The European Union has put work on its trade deal with the United States on hold, citing rising tensions over US President Donald Trump’s threats linked to Greenland.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament
agreed on Wednesday to pause approval and implementation of the agreement reached last summer, as concerns grow over tariff threats and pressure on Denmark and Greenland.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, said the decision followed a meeting of senior lawmakers from different political groups.
In a statement, Lange said the US approach had left the EU with little choice. “By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU member state and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the US is undermining the stability and predictability of EU-US trade relations,” he noted.
Lange explained that the European Parliament had been preparing its position on two legislative proposals linked to the so-called Turnberry Deal, which aimed to suspend tariffs on US industrial goods and allow wider access for US agricultural products through a quota system.
However, he said continued and escalating threats against Greenland, Denmark and other European allies had forced lawmakers to suspend work on the proposals.
“Given the continued and escalating threats, including tariff threats, against Greenland and Denmark, and their European allies, we have been left with no alternative but to suspend work on the two Turnberry legislative proposals until the US decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation, and before any further steps are taken,” the European leader said.
