EU-US Turnberry Deal

Today the European Parliament will debate and vote on the mandate to enter into inter-institutional negotiations regarding the EU tariff aspects of the EU-US Turnberry Deal.

Bas Eickhout MEP, President of the Greens/EFA Group, comments:

“Right from the start, our group has criticised the commission’s weak stance towards Trump. We regret that, from the outset, the EU has set aside all tools at its disposal to defend itself.

Our group will continue to oppose the creation of a new EU dependency on the US through the import of fossil fuels. We will not accept the EU becoming an accomplice to the US’ fossil fuel based economic model, in a huge boost for Trumpian politics and a massive hit to the climate.

EU governments must start seriously building a consistent EU sovereignty and reduce strategic dependencies.”

Terry Reintke MEP, President of the Greens/EFA Group, comments:

“It’s welcome that the European Parliament is asking the US to give formal guarantees that, in spite of the Supreme Court ruling, they will stick to the Turnberry tariff levels.

However, it is unacceptable that we could not vote on the more problematic parts of the agreement, including Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

Nevertheless, the Parliament has agreed on a mandate that strengthens the EU’s position vis-à-vis the US. The European Parliament has, in fact, introduced a sunrise clause which requires the US to comply with the 15% tariff levels agreed at Turnberry. Furthermore, it has introduced a time limit. The tariff concessions will indeed lapse in March 2028. The various suspension grounds are also valuable as they allow the EU to pull the plug from the tariff concessions in case of threats to EU or Member States.”