PARIS — France’s EU affairs minister Benjamin Haddad said Tuesday that the EU should not rush to ratify last year’s trade deal with the U.S., insisting on the need to add more safeguards.
“There is no reason to unilaterally implement a deal if it is not respected by the other side. Trade must be reciprocal. This is why we should not give up on the clauses,” Haddad told POLITICO after a meeting with Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee and the lead lawmaker on the transatlantic accord.
Paris is aligned with the push by EU lawmakers to attach additional conditions to the deal concluded last July in Turnberry, Scotland, an official from Haddad’s office said.
Proposed safeguards include a “sunrise” clause, which would make the removal of the tariffs on U.S. goods contingent on scaling back American tariffs on steel products, and a “sunset” clause under which the deal would expire on March 31, 2028.
“On the European side, there are some questions, [a demand for] some safeguards to be able to keep our commitments and to make sure that we can react should the United States fail to honor these commitments,” an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron said last week.
France and the MEPs face opposition from a German-led majority of member countries determined to preserve the original agreement, leaving talks between EU countries, lawmakers, and the Commission on a legislative compromise deadlocked. A further round of talks to find a compromise is planned for May 6.
