EU and US Kiss and Make Up (With Safety Scissors)
In a stunning display of legislative speed—and let’s be honest, that’s an oxymoron when it comes to politics—European lawmakers just gave the thumbs up to a trade deal that basically says “let’s be friends” to the United States. Well, friends with very detailed prenuptial agreements.
On Tuesday, MEPs overwhelmingly approved two regulations that eliminate tariffs on American industrial goods and roll out the red carpet for US seafood and agricultural products. Translation? Your future iPhone might be cheaper, and American lobster is officially invited to the party. Speaking of lobster, they even passed a separate regulation specifically about lobster imports, because apparently one crustacean deserves its own legislation. Democracy in action, folks.
But here’s where it gets spicy: Parliament wasn’t about to hand over the keys without installing some serious security systems first. The deal comes loaded with more exit clauses than a bad relationship. There’s a “sunset clause” that makes everything expire by 2029 unless renewed, a suspension trigger if the US slaps tariffs higher than 15% on European steel and aluminum, and a safeguard mechanism in case American imports start flooding European markets like tourists in Venice.
Bernd Lange, the International Trade Committee Chair, essentially said “we stood our ground” in the most diplomatic way possible, which in political speak means “we added so many conditions that this thing has more strings attached than a marionette factory.”
The deal stems from last summer’s Turnberry agreement between President Trump and Commission President von der Leyen—yes, they hashed out trade policy in Scotland, presumably over whisky. Now it just needs the Council’s rubber stamp before becoming law, completing its journey through the EU’s famously streamlined bureaucratic process.