EU reportedly to press pause on US trade deal approval amid latest tariffs kerfuffle

The report says that the EU is set to put on hold the ratification process of its trade deal with the US after the latest changes to the US administration’s tariffs policy. Adding that they will be seeking out more details from Washington on what their plans are with the new tariffs in place.

I don’t think comes as any surprise really. Even the UK, which has been disadvantaged from the change, has resigned to the fact that they will have to follow the blanket 15% tariffs applied in the new shift.

If anything, I’d be more interested to see what happens to the deals struck between the US and the likes of Japan and South Korea. Both Asian countries pledged large investment commitments to the US in exchange for a supposedly “better” tariffs rate of around 15%. Right now, everyone and anyone else is put on a level playing field and they got that for free. So, is Japan and South Korea still going to pay up still?

Circling back to the EU, the lower tariffs will not just have an impact on their direct dealings with the US. One of the biggest changes is that we’re seeing US tariffs against China get reduced significantly, down from around 34-50% to just 15%. That’s a material change and will have another big impact on the global trade environment in the short-term.

Do remember that this 15% tariffs rate will only be applicable for 150 days. Will Chinese exporters seize this opportunity to flood US markets once again like they did before the April 2025 hit?

If so, that will have a chain effect on trade dealings elsewhere and especially to Europe. That as China turned into arguably its most important ally in the second half of last year, vice versa, in helping each other to deal with the fallout from US tariffs.