Europe hits the brakes on U.S. trade deal after tariff ruling

The European Parliament on Monday halted the ratification process of a sweeping trade deal with the United States, the latest fallout from the Supreme Court striking down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Following an emergency meeting in Brussels, lawmakers said the U.S.’ side of the deal is now “so uncertain.”

“Nobody knows what will happen … and it’s unclear if there will be additional measures or how the United States will really guarantee” its end of the agreement, the parliament’s trade committee chief Bernd Lange said.

As the announcement was being made, Trump used social media to threaten “any country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision.” Trump said countries could be hit “with a much higher tariff.”

Trump ended his Truth Social post with, “BUYER BEWARE!!!”

The uncertainty coupled with Trump’s threats sent U.S. stocks to their lows of the day. The Dow fell more than 650 points, or more than 1.3%. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq fell 0.7%.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index also dipped 0.2%. Benchmark indexes in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and Sweden also traded in the red. 

The deal reached between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last July would have eliminated what the White House called “trade barriers” in a variety of sectors for American exporters. The administration hailed the deal as a “generational modernization of the transatlantic alliance.”

For the European Union, von der Leyen said, the deal created “certainty in uncertain times” and offered “stability and predictability, for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The agreement capped most U.S. tariffs on imports from the E.U. at 15% and cut tariffs to 0% on aircrafts and parts, generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some farm products and some critical raw materials not available in the U.S.

But the deal has stumbled since last summer, as the bloc’s parliament works to implement the E.U.’s side.

The U.S. also expanded its metals tariff to hundreds of additional products last year.

In mid-January, Trump said he would hit eight European countries with additional tariffs if he was not able to gain control of Greenland. In response, the European Parliament paused ratification of the trade deal for the first time.

“By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an E.U. member state and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the U.S. is undermining the stability and predictability of E.U.-U.S. trade relations,” said Lange, chair of the parliament’s international trade committee.

After the United Kingdom, the E.U. and the individual nations themselves forcefully pushed back, Trump backed down from his Greenland tariff threats.

Lawmakers still remained skeptical of Trump’s plans. Instead of quickly resuming work on the deal, they decided to hold off for a few weeks.

“The U.S. needs to tell us precisely what is going on,” European Union trade spokesman Olof Gill said Monday before the parliament’s announcement, adding that answers so far from the Trump administration have not satisfied the bloc’s questions.

“There is engagement ongoing with the U.S. but there is more required,” he said.

Overnight, China said it was seeking more information as well and conducting a review of the court’s ruling. China also called for the U.S. to entirely abandon its tariffs.

Trade negotiators from India have canceled a planned trip to Washington for talks about a pending trade deal, according to multiple reports. The Indian Commerce Ministry did not return a request for comment.