European Parliament Freezes EU–US Trade Deal over Trump's Pressure on Denmark and Greenland

The European Parliament has suspended its work on legislation linked to the 2025 EU-US Turnberry trade agreement, citing escalating pressure from Washington on Denmark and Greenland, including threats of new tariffs.

The decision was announced by Bernd Lange, a German Social Democrat and chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, following a meeting of coordinators and shadow rapporteurs from the political groups. According to Lange, the United States is damaging trust in transatlantic trade relations by resorting to tariffs as a means of political pressure, thereby undermining stability and predictability in EU–US economic ties.

Lange stressed that the European Parliament stands firmly behind the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Denmark and Greenland. He underlined that continued threats against an EU member state leave Parliament with no choice but to halt progress on the two legislative proposals related to the Turnberry agreement until the United States returns to a cooperative approach.

The Turnberry deal, reached politically in mid-2025, was intended to eliminate tariffs on US industrial goods entering the EU and to introduce tariff-rate quotas for a wide range of US agricultural and food products. However, repeated warnings from Washington about imposing tariffs on imports from Denmark and other European countries have effectively stalled the process before formal negotiations with the EU Council could begin.

“We remain open to cooperation, but we will not accept dictates based on commercial blackmail,” Lange said, adding that Parliament expects the US administration to move away from confrontation if progress is to resume.

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament adopted a strong position condemning what it described as unilateral trade threats and economic coercion by the United States against Denmark and other EU member states. MEPs argued that such actions violate international law and contradict the principles of allied conduct within NATO. They were categorical that Greenland must not be used as a geopolitical lever to divide the European Union.

Parliament called for a united, firm and decisive response from the EU to any attempts at coercion, while expressing concern that US foreign policy is increasingly driven by a “transactional” logic. Lawmakers also warned about what they described as hybrid actions targeting Greenland, saying these pose a serious risk to the EU’s strategic interests, the transatlantic partnership and the broader international legal order.

As background, the EU and the US reached a political understanding on customs and trade issues in July 2025, later formalized in a joint statement outlining the Turnberry framework. The European Commission subsequently put forward two legislative proposals to implement parts of that agreement. Responsibility for steering these proposals through Parliament and negotiating with EU governments lies with the Committee on International Trade, whose work will now remain on hold until US threats against Denmark and Greenland cease.