Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 21, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe European Parliament has suspended work on the EU-US trade deal following President Trump's repeated comments about acquiring Greenland.
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The European Parliament has decided to suspend its work on the European Union's trade deal with the United States in protest at U.S. President Donald Trump's demands to acquire Greenland and threats of tariffs on European allies who oppose his plan.
The EU assembly has been debating legislative proposals to remove many EU import duties on U.S. goods, a key part of the agreement struck in Turnberry, Scotland, at the end of July, as well as to continue zero duties for U.S. lobsters, initially agreed with Trump in 2020. The proposals require approval by the parliament and EU governments.
Many lawmakers have complained that the trade deal is lopsided, with the EU required to cut most import duties while the U.S. sticks to a broad rate of 15%. However, they had previously appeared willing to accept it, albeit with conditions, such as an 18-month sunset clause and measures to respond to possible surges of U.S. imports.
The trade committee of the European Parliament was due to set its position in votes on January 26-27. However this has now been postponed.
The chair of the committee Bernd Lange told a news conference on Wednesday that the new tariff threats had broken the Turnberry deal, saying it would now be put on hold until further notice.
However, freezing the deal risks angering Trump, which could lead to higher U.S. tariffs. The Trump administration has also ruled out any concessions, such as cutting tariffs on spirits or steel, until the deal is in place.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, writing by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Toby Chopra)
The European Parliament is the directly elected legislative body of the European Union, representing the interests of EU citizens and involved in the decision-making process.
Brexit refers to the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, which was finalized through a referendum held in June 2016.
Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, known for its vast ice sheets and unique Arctic ecosystem.
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