The European Parliament on Wednesday suspended the approval of the trade deal that the EU and the U.S. agreed in July.
In a statement on Wednesday, European Parliament member Bernd Lange, who serves as the INTA chair on EU-US trade relations, stated that recent plans by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of between 10% to 25% on European nations go against the terms of the trade pact.
Referring to Trump’s address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Lange said: “I guess he didn’t revise his position. He wants to have Greenland as part of the United States as quick as possible.”
In his speech, the president called for “immediate negotiations” on the acquisition of the Arctic territory. While Trump ruled out the use of military force in his address, a commitment Lange described as a “small positive element”.
Lange maintained that the proposed 10% to 25% tariffs remain on the table. He added that until the threat of these levies is over, “there will be no possibility of compromise.” Consequently, the parliament will “hold on the procedure… until there is clarity regarding Greenland and the threats.”
Lange further asserted that “there was a breaking of the Scotland deal by President Trump,” referring to the trade pact agreed by the EU and the U.S. at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort last year.
According to the INTA chair, Trump is “using tariffs as an instrument of political pressure” to facilitate the purchase of Greenland, characterizing the move as “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty of the European Union.”
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In response, the Committee on International Trade will meet this coming Monday to discuss the use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI). The measure, frequently described as a “trade bazooka,” is a far-reaching tool that would allow the EU to substantially restrict U.S. companies’ access to its single market, block them from tenders, reduce the flow of goods and capital, and curb foreign direct investment in the bloc.
“This was created exactly for such a case when a foreign country [uses] tariffs and investment for political and coercive pressure,” Lange said of the ACI.
President Trump has previously upset the world order by announcing the U.S. would acquire Greenland either through purchase or military force, a stance that has drawn widespread condemnation from world leaders.
Trump argues that if the U.S. fails to take control of Greenland, China or Russia could occupy it, which he maintains is dangerous for American national security.