A landmark transatlantic trade deal will not be approved by EU lawmakers after US President Donald Trump hit European countries with new tariffs as part of his efforts to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark, Report informs via Politico.
Confirmation that the European Parliament will not move forward with ratification of the agreement, signed by Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in July last year, casts the future of the trade-war truce into uncertainty.
In a statement online, Manfred Weber, the president of the European People's Party (EPP), said that the escalating US-Europe tensions meant the Parliament would not vote in favor of the pact, which sets US tariffs on imports from the EU at 15 percent in exchange for the bloc not applying levies on American exports.
"The EPP is in favor of the EU-US trade deal, but given Donald Trump's threats regarding Greenland, approval is not possible at this stage," Weber wrote. "The 0 percent tariffs on US products must be put on hold."
While other members of von der Leyen's governing coalition - the center-left S&D, centrist Renew and left-wing Greens - had been pushing for a strategic pause on the implementation of the trade deal in recent weeks, her own EPP had remained unconvinced until now.