BRUSSELS: The European Commission called Sunday for Washington to abide by the terms of the trade deal struck last year with the EU, as President Donald Trump announced new global tariff hikes a day after an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
“A deal is a deal. As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the US to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments,” said a commission statement.
“The European Commission requests full clarity on the steps the United States intends to take following the recent Supreme Court ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),” it said.
Trump temporarily raised the global duty on imports into the United States to 15 percent on Saturday, delivering a fresh jolt of uncertainty just a day after the Supreme Court ruled much of his international tariffs campaign illegal.
The EU and United States last year struck an agreement setting US tariffs at a maximum 15 percent on most European goods.
“EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed,” the commission said.
It warned that “when applied unpredictably, tariffs are inherently disruptive, undermining confidence and stability across global markets and creating further uncertainty across international supply chains”.
The EU executive said it remained “in close and continuous contact” with Trump’s administration and that EU Trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic had spoken with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday.
The European Parliament’s trade committee is due to approve the EU-US deal on Tuesday — but the Supreme Court judgment casts doubt on that now happening.
The committee’s head, Bernd Lange, said he would call during a meeting of parliament’s political groups on Monday for putting “legislative work on hold until we have a proper legal assessment and clear commitments from the US side”.
“Pure tariff chaos from the US administration. No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other US trading partners,” Lange wrote.
“Clarity and legal certainty are needed before any further steps are taken,” he added.
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