By Emmanuel Bobby
The European Parliament on Monday halted the ratification process for a sweeping trade agreement with the United States, marking the latest fallout from the Supreme Court decision that struck down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
After an emergency meeting in Brussels, lawmakers said the U.S. side of the agreement had become too uncertain to move forward. “Nobody knows what will happen … and it’s unclear if there will be additional measures or how the United States will really guarantee” its commitments, said Bernd Lange, chair of the parliament’s trade committee.
As the announcement was unfolding, Trump issued a warning on social media, threatening countries that he said were “playing games” with the Supreme Court decision. He warned such countries could face “much higher tariffs,” ending his post with the message: “BUYER BEWARE!!!”
The escalating uncertainty rattled financial markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 820 points, or 1.66%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.04% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.13%. The Russell 2000 index, which tracks smaller companies, slid 1.63%. European markets also fell, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 down 0.4% and major indexes across the U.K., France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and Sweden ending the day lower.
The trade deal, reached last July between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, was designed to remove barriers across multiple sectors for American exporters. The White House had described it as a “generational modernization of the transatlantic alliance,” while von der Leyen said it would bring “stability and predictability” to businesses and citizens on both sides of the Atlantic.
Under the agreement, most U.S. tariffs on European imports would have been capped at 15%, with tariffs eliminated entirely on aircraft and parts, generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products, and critical raw materials unavailable in the United States.
However, the deal has faced growing obstacles. The U.S. expanded metals tariffs last year, and in mid-January Trump threatened additional tariffs on eight European countries if he could not gain control of Greenland. That threat prompted the European Parliament to pause ratification for the first time. Although Trump later backed down after pushback from European leaders, skepticism remained.
“By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an E.U. member state and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the U.S. is undermining the stability and predictability of E.U.-U.S. trade relations,” Lange said.
Rather than resuming the process immediately, lawmakers opted to delay ratification for several weeks. European Union trade spokesman Olof Gill said the bloc needed clearer answers from Washington, noting that current explanations from the Trump administration had not been sufficient.
China also said it was reviewing the court ruling and called on the U.S. to abandon its tariffs entirely. India reportedly canceled a planned trip to Washington for trade talks, though its commerce ministry did not comment.
Following the Supreme Court ruling on Friday, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% global tariff under a separate law not affected by the decision, later saying he would raise it to 15%. A revised executive order has not yet been released.
Customs and Border Protection said import duties under the invalidated tariffs will stop being collected starting Tuesday.
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