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Last Updated:January 22, 2026, 08:38 IST
The European Parliament's actions come as the 27-nation bloc considers strongly retaliating if Trump proceeds against Washington's long-standing allies.
A file photo of Donald Trump (AP)
In a strong action against US President Donald Trump’s mounting threats to seize Greenland, the European Union has put on hold a trade deal with the US after the European Parliament decided to freeze a ratification vote.
The trade committee was reportedly due to set its position in votes on January 26-27 in Parliament; however, this has been postponed. The Parliament, through the vote, was planning on removing tariffs on US industrial goods as part of the agreement.
Responding to the action, Bernd Lange, chair of Parliament’s trade committee in a statement, said, “By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU member state and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the US is undermining the stability and predictability of EU-US trade relations."
“We have been left with no alternative but to suspend work on the trade deal, until the US decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation," Lange added.
The European Parliament’s actions come as the 27-nation bloc considers strongly retaliating if Trump proceeds against Washington’s long-standing allies.
The agreement has been put on hold amid the growing dispute between the EU and the US over Greenland. Trump had earlier threatened to impose tariffs on several European countries unless he was allowed to buy the island.
Trump Scraps Tariffs
Notably, following the EU’s postponement of the deal, the US President scrapped the tariffs he had threatened to impose on eight European nations over Greenland, saying that he had agreed with the head of NATO on a “framework of a future deal" on Arctic security.
“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1," he added.
EU Parliament Freezes Approval Of US Trade Deal
The ongoing situation and tariff warning issued by Trump over the weekend led EU lawmakers to rethink the planned vote on ratifying the US trade deal agreed with Washington last July.
Under the agreement, most EU goods would face a 15 per cent tariff, while the EU agreed to remove all tariffs on American industrial products and some agricultural items.
Parts of the deal were already implemented, but it still requires Parliament’s approval to become final.
First Published:
January 22, 2026, 08:38 IST
News world 'Left With No Alternative': EU Parliament Freezes Approval Of US Trade Deal Over Trump's Greenland Threats
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