1 of 5 | President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing on tariffs at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday. The European Union’s parliament postponed a vote Monday on a trade deal with the United States after Trump imposed a blanket 15% tariff Friday afternoon. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo
The European Union’s parliament on Monday canceled its vote to ratify the EU’s trade deal with the United States after last week’s tariff complications from the Supreme Court and the White House.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to levy tariffs was illegal. In response, the president announced a 10% across-the-board tariff, then later changed it to 15%.
Trump cited a seldom-used law, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which he said allows him to impose a blanket tariff on all goods imported into the United States for 150 days. Congress would have to extend the tariff beyond that deadline. That tariff takes effect Tuesday. The 15% tariff is in addition to existing tariffs on specific nations or goods.
European trade lawmakers halted the vote on the 15% tariff deal made at the Turnberry Scottish golf resort in Scotland in July.
“The decision to postpone the vote on the implementation of the U.S. deal is the right one. Given the current enormous uncertainty, a vote would be unjustifiable,” said Anna Cavazzini, a German representative to the EU parliament.
“We have to act as Team Europe and have one voice,” Željana Zovko, a member of the European parliament representing Croatia, told Politico. “I agreed to postpone, but not unconditionally and not forever. We have to have a vote in March, and we have to respect our side to the deal.”
Bernd Lange, chair of the EU parliament’s International Trade committee, called it “Pure tariff chaos from the U.S. administration,” CNBC reported.
“No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty for the EU and other U.S. trading partners,” Lange wrote on X.
“Do new tariffs … not constitute a breach of the deal? Regardless, no one knows whether the U.S. will adhere to it — or even be able to,” Lange said. “Clarity and legal certainty are needed before any further steps are taken.”
In an official statement, Lange said: “The ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States of 20 February 2026 on the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is clear and unequivocal. Its implications cannot be ignored, and business as usual is not an option.
“A key instrument used on the U.S. side to negotiate and implement the Turnberry Deal is no longer available. The situation is now more uncertain than ever. This runs counter to the stability and predictability we sought to achieve with the Turnberry Deal,” the statement said.
The European Commission issued a statement saying, “A deal is a deal.”
“As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honor its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments,” the EC said. “In particular, EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed.
“Tariffs are taxes, driving up costs for both consumers and businesses, as recent studies clearly confirm,” the statement continued. “When applied unpredictably, tariffs are inherently disruptive, undermining confidence and stability across global markets and creating further uncertainty across international supply chains.”
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Trump’s policies will go on.
“The president’s policy was going to continue. That’s why they signed these deals, even while the litigation was pending. So we’re having active conversations with them. We want them to understand that these deals are going to be good deals. We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them,” Greer told CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday. “And I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say, ‘the deal’s off.’ They want to see how this plays out. I’m in active conversation with them on it.”
The countries with the lowest tariff rate will be hurt more if Trump sticks to his 15% plan, in particular the United Kingdom.
Switzerland-based Global Trade Alert analyzed the change and said Britain faces a 2.1% increase in its average tariff rate, and the EU will see a 0.8% increase. But Brazil’s rate will drop 13.6%, and China’s will drop 7.1%
“This is an administration that doesn’t think too much about second- or third-order effects, and so what we’re seeing is that those countries that tried to get in early and do an advantageous deal when the president was first starting to talk about these levies … are being penalized,” Tina Fordham, founder of Fordham Global Foresight, told CNBC’s Europe Early Edition on Monday.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the uncertainty is challenging.
“It’s a bit like driving. You want to know the rules of the road before you get in the car. It’s the same with trade,” she told CNBC. “If [the new tariffs policy] shakes the whole equilibrium which people in the trade had got used to … [it] is going to bring about disruptions in the business for sure,” she said.
