The European Parliament has decided to suspend the approval procedure for the trade agreement with the United States, postponing its consent in response to new tariff threats put forward by President Trump. The announcement was made in Strasbourg by Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, during a press conference held on 21 January 2026. The decision, already anticipated by EPP group leader Manfred Weber and shared with the Socialists and Liberals, effectively blocks the agreement signed last July in Scotland.
According to Lange, Washington’s new stance represents a breach of the deal reached over the summer and an instrumental use of tariffs as a tool of political pressure, with a direct reference to the issue of Greenland. For the European Parliament, the chair of the Trade Committee explained, the procedure will remain suspended until there is clarity both on the tariff threats and on the political context surrounding them. The US move was described as an attack on the European Union’s economic and territorial sovereignty, with potential direct effects on transatlantic trade flows.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Lange pointed to the need to consider further steps, including the possible reactivation of EU tariffs on certain lists of US products that were frozen after the July agreement, as well as the implementation of the EU’s anti-coercion instrument. The latter, often referred to as the European “bazooka”, was designed to respond to third countries that use trade levers or investment as instruments of political pressure. For the logistics and freight transport sector, the prospect of a return to tariff barriers on US–EU flows introduces a new element of uncertainty into route planning, transport costs and the management of transatlantic supply chains.
On the same day, the European Parliament took another significant step on the trade policy front by approving the referral of the EU–Mercosur agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a legal opinion. The motion passed with 334 votes in favour, 324 against and 11 abstentions, effectively blocking final ratification of the deal pending the Court’s ruling, which could take several months. Only after this stage will Parliament be able to express its definitive position on the agreement.
The request for an opinion, tabled by MEPs from The Left, the Greens and part of the Liberal group, concerns the compatibility of the agreement and the procedure for its conclusion with the EU Treaties, in particular in light of Article 218 of the TFEU. At the heart of the concerns is the rebalancing mechanism that allows Mercosur countries to seek compensation if a lawful measure nullifies the expected trade benefits. According to the proponents, this instrument could affect the EU’s regulatory autonomy and the precautionary principle, with possible indirect effects on the standards governing the circulation of goods. The European Commission countered that this mechanism, inspired by the WTO model, “does not allow Mercosur countries to challenge EU laws or regulations, nor to influence EU policies”.
The European Commission expressed regret over Parliament’s decision. Spokesman Olof Gill stressed that, according to the EU executive’s analysis, the issues raised are not new and were already addressed in detail during the negotiations. By contrast, the EU Greens welcomed the referral to the Court as a reaffirmation of respect for the rule of law and a necessary check to avoid any weakening of European standards, including in agriculture and food.
The vote highlighted deep political and national divisions. Decisive was the cross-party pressure from MEPs from France, Romania, Poland and Greece in favour of the referral, while the majority of delegations from Italy, Germany and Spain opposed it. Within the groups themselves, the EPP recorded 43 defections and the Socialists 35, confirming the fragmented consensus around an agreement that, in terms of scale, concerns a market of around 700 million consumers.
For European logistics, the double halt decided in Strasbourg opens a phase of greater caution. The freezing of the deal with the United States and the postponement of the Mercosur agreement slow down prospects for trade liberalisation that could have affected volumes of maritime, intermodal and land traffic, as well as infrastructure investments linked to international corridors. In a context already marked by geopolitical tensions and growing attention to supply chain resilience, the European Parliament’s decisions reinforce the role of trade policy as a key factor in the operational planning of freight transport and logistics operators.
