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Discussions will continue on how the agreement could be suspended in the future, but lawmakers may vote on it as early as March.

The agreement signed in July 2024 by President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen envisaged the United States imposing a 15% tariff on EU exports, while the EU committed to reducing tariffs on US goods to zero.

Lawmakers, who must implement the agreement through legislation, had suspended the process after Trump threatened several EU countries with tariffs if they refused to allow the United States to take over Danish territory.

Chair of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee, German MEP Bernd Lange, said that committee members are determined to swiftly advance work on the two legislative proposals, provided that the United States respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Union and its member states and complies with the terms of the Turnberry Agreement. He added that the committee could vote on the agreement on 24 February.

MEPs from the political groups handling the file discussed their next steps behind closed doors on Wednesday, and according to Lange, a majority ultimately decided in favor of lifting the freeze on the agreement.

The Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe and the Greens are pushing for the inclusion of a clause that would allow the agreement to be suspended in the event of new threats to the territorial sovereignty of the Arctic island, while the largest center-right political group, the European People’s Party (EPP), wants work on the agreement to be rapidly resumed to provide certainty for businesses.

In a statement, the group’s negotiator, Croatian MEP Željana Zovko, said: “The EPP Group aims to regain momentum in EU-US trade relations by providing certainty for European businesses and strengthening the transatlantic partnership.”