Trump threatens to impose new tariffs by July as the EU and US reach an agreement on a trade pact.

A deal to implement the bloc’s trade agreement with the US was reached early on Wednesday by EU lawmakers and member states, putting an end to months of negotiations over the agreement as President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs if it wasn’t approved by July 4. Late-night talks between EU capitals and parliament negotiators resulted in the compromise.

Early on Wednesday morning, EU lawmakers and member states came to an agreement to implement the bloc’s nearly year-old trade agreement with the United States. President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs if the agreement wasn’t completed by July 4.

To Trump’s increasing annoyance, the 27-nation bloc reached a deal with Washington last July that set levies on the majority of European goods at 15%. However, the EU side still needed to finalize the text.

The EU’s parliament and capitals engaged in late-night negotiations before announcing a difficult compromise several hours after midnight.

“Today, the European Union delivers on its commitments,” stated Michael Damianos, the minister of energy, commerce, and industry for Cyprus, the nation that holds the EU’s rotating presidency, in a statement announcing the agreement.

He stated, “It is in both parties’ best interests to maintain a stable, predictable, and balanced transatlantic partnership.”

With the EU agreement, the bloc will hopefully put an end to more than a year of transatlantic trade disputes and meet Trump’s deadline for ratifying the agreement reached in Turnberry, Scotland, between Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Aside from that, Trump had already promised to increase duties on European cars and trucks from 15 to 25 percent and had cautioned the EU to expect “much higher” tariffs.

Trump’s tariff blitz prior to the Turnberry agreement, which included high levies on steel, aluminum, and auto parts, has shocked the bloc into developing international trade relations.

However, the EU cannot afford to overlook its relationship with its biggest trading partner, the United States, which is worth 1.6 trillion euros ($1.9 trillion).

“Sunrise” is over.

Parliament was under pressure to backtrack on a number of changes it had made to the text that the Americans found objectionable in order to reach a compromise with member states.

One point of contention was a suspension clause strengthened by parliament that, in the event that the United States violated the terms of the agreement, would eliminate favorable tariff conditions for US exporters.

The final text, according to lawmakers, gave the United States until the end of the year to remove surtaxes exceeding 15 percent on steel components rather than requiring them as a prerequisite.

The “sunrise” and “sunset” clauses, which stated that the EU side of the agreement would take effect once the US fulfilled its obligations and would expire unless renewed in 2028, were the subject of another dispute.

According to lawmakers, the sunrise clause was completely eliminated, and the sunset was postponed until the end of 2029.

Bernd Lange, the head of the parliament’s trade committee, had to work with the various factions of the parliament, who were negotiating until the very last minute, to find a consensus.

Following the announcement of the agreement, Lange downplayed the compromises made by lawmakers, saying that “parliament has prevailed with its demands for a comprehensive safety net.”

“There are provisions for unjustified tariffs on certain products, an expiration date for the legislation, a monitoring mechanism for the impact on our economy, a suspension mechanism if the US does not abide by the deal, and strong involvement of the European Parliament,” he stated.

Following months of delays brought on by Trump’s plans for Greenland and a US Supreme Court decision that invalidated many of the president’s tariffs, the EU parliament granted a conditional green light in March.

Von der Leyen is a member of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP), which is the largest force in the assembly and has been working hard to finally implement the agreement, which it claims is essential to putting an end to harmful uncertainty for EU businesses.