A senior European lawmaker has said the United States must respect its existing trade agreement with the European Union as Washington launches new tariff investigations affecting global trading partners.
Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, said the U.S. should honour commitments made under the EU U.S. tariff deal and avoid introducing measures that could undermine the agreement.
Lange’s comments come amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policy following legal and political developments affecting tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. Recent moves by Washington to examine new tariffs have raised concerns among European officials about whether existing trade arrangements will be respected.
Under a trade understanding reached in 2025, the EU agreed to remove tariffs on many U.S. products while the U.S. maintained tariffs of around 15 percent on most European exports as part of efforts to prevent a broader trade dispute.
However, shifting tariff policies and legal challenges in the United States have created uncertainty about the future of the agreement. Lange described the situation as causing confusion for trading partners and warned that changes to tariff policies could affect the balance of the deal.
European officials have called for clarity from Washington, stressing that any investigations or tariff measures should be consistent with the commitments already made between both sides.
The European Union has also indicated that it may review the timing of ratifying certain elements of the agreement until there is greater certainty about U.S. trade policy.
Trade relations between the European Union and the United States represent one of the world’s largest economic partnerships, with hundreds of billions of dollars in goods and services exchanged every year. Analysts say any escalation in tariffs could have significant consequences for global trade and supply chains.
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