The European Commission has demanded “full clarity” on the steps the United States intends to take following the recent Supreme Court ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The current situation, says the EC, is not conducive to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” transatlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of August 2025.
The Commission says it “will always ensure that the interests of the European Union are fully protected.”
World trade has been thrown into confusion after the European Union decided to delay a trade deal with the US after Donald Trump said he would impose new blanket 15pc global tariffs.
At its Brussels plenary,the European Parliament’s trade committee had also this week been due to vote (24 February) about whether to adopt a deal that would have lowered duties on both sides of the Atlantic but this has been put on hold after the Supreme Court struck down swathes of the US president’s tariffs last week.
The Commission states in a statement, “EU companies and exporters must have fair treatment, predictability, and legal certainty.”
It goes on, “A deal is a deal. As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement – just as the EU stands by its commitments.”
“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 EC statement adds, “When applied unpredictably, tariffs are inherently disruptive, undermining confidence and stability across global markets and creating further uncertainty across international supply chains.”
The Commission said it is in “close and continuous” contact with the U.S. Administration.
On Saturday, 21 February, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič spoke with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the EC says it will continue to work towards lowering tariffs.
The EU says its priority is to preserve a stable, predictable transatlantic trading environment, while also acting as a global anchor for rules-based trade.
“The EU continues to expand our network of comprehensive and ambitious zero tariff trade agreements worldwide, and efforts to strengthen the open, rules-based trading system.”
MEPs are also commenting on the current trade chaos,with Greens/EFA MEP Anna Cavazzini, shadow rapporteur on EU-US trade, saying,”Now we have proof that Trump’s tariffs were not legal under international or US law. The next steps remain unclear. I worry that Trump will continue to misuse his powers until he finds a way to impose his unjustified tariffs. The vote on the Turnberry agreement in the European Parliament should be paused until we have clarity.”
EFA MEP Sergey Lagodinsky, shadow rapporteur on EU-US relations and Vice-President of Greens/EFA, stated, “A lot of us have been saying all along that the current administration has been overstepping its authority. We have been awaiting an institutional response by American democracy.
“Disappointingly, such a response has not been coming. Lives have been lost, a lot of damage has been caused. But now, the voice of justice is loud and clear. At least in the area of tariffs. I hope this is a first step on the path to restoring separation of powers and democratic accountability in the United States and rules in international relations.”
The Renew Europe group has welcomed the US Supreme Court ruling declaring parts of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration “unlawful” while warning that the situation demands “careful and rigorous analysis” before any further steps are taken on the so called Turnberry agreement.
President Trump’s announcement of new retaliatory duties of 10 and “finally” 15% in response to the ruling adds a “fresh layer” of uncertainty to an already volatile trade environment, says Renew Europe which says it believes “this rapidly shifting landscape” made necessary to suspend the tariff reduction laws of the Turnberry agreement until “greater clarity is restored.”
An RE statement said, “The EU cannot afford a trade policy conducted in chaos. Our businesses and our workers need stability and predictability – neither of which the Trump administration is currently providing. Trade cannot be used as a puppet in the hands of one of the world’s most powerful economic players. We expect Washington to bring coherence and consistency to its trade policy before the EU move on with its implementation.”
MEP Karin Karlsbro (Liberalerna, Sweden), Renew Europe’s coordinator and vice chair on the International Trade Committee, added: “The United States must get its trade policy in order, this level of chaos is not serious. We will not be able to vote on the Turnberry Agreement until we can expect that we will actually get predictability in return”
Elsewhere and in response to the decision this week by the chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade to put the EU-US tariff deal ‘on hold’, The Left Group in the EU parliament has called for “a braver, more ambitious response to Trump’s economic coercion by killing the deal once and for all.”
Co-Chair of the Left and shadow rapporteur on the EU-US deal Martin Schirdewan (Die Linke, Germany) said: “Instead of clinging to an obviously failed agreement, we should bury this agreement and renegotiate on equal terms. It’s barely comprehensible that conservatives still wanted to hold onto this deal.
“Trump proves almost daily that he is not a reliable trading partner. Even when he tries to construct new legal bases for his punitive tariffs, none of them create long-term legal certainty or predictability. Commission President von der Leyen and the EU heads of government have caved in, and the US Supreme Court has overturned the tariffs. This is a trade policy disaster.”
“The EU’s concessions must now be withdrawn, and the Anti-Coercion Instrument must finally be applied. The EU-US agreement was supposed to create stability and reliability – instead, it has produced uncertainty and chaos. Our steel exports to the US have already plummeted by around 30 percent while US government threats against European digital legislation are intensifying,” he said.
