EU Parliament freezes US trade deal ratification after Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland

EU lawmakers have agreed to hold off on ratifying a key trade deal with the United States following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland, the main political groups said on Tuesday, January 20. The warning shot from the European Parliament comes as the 27-nation bloc weighs how hard to hit back if Trump follows through against Washington’s long-standing allies.

The Parliament was planning a vote in the coming weeks on removing tariffs on US industrial goods as part of the agreement. A delay does not sink the deal, agreed in July with Trump after months of intense wrangling that saw Washington slap 15% tariffs on EU goods.

But by suspending approval, it does send a strong message of discontent to the White House that EU lawmakers argued would unnerve American businesses. “It is an extremely powerful lever – I don’t think companies would agree to give up the European market,” Valerie Hayer, president of the centrist Renew group, told journalists.

Trump has threatened to hit six EU countries – including powerhouses France and Germany – with tariffs for not going along with his demand to get Greenland. EU leaders are set to hold an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday evening over the US threats against Denmark’s autonomous territory, Greenland.

The bloc is weighing different responses if Trump does not back down, including putting last year’s trade deal on hold and hitting the US with €93 billion in tariffs. The package of retaliatory tariffs was agreed at the height of the EU-US trade standoff last year, but was ultimately suspended until February 6 to avoid an all-out trade war.

Beyond that, French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing to unleash the bloc’s potent anti-coercion trade instrument to use in case Trump makes good on his threats.