Reference News Network, January 21 report: According to the French "L'Express" weekly website on January 20, the European Parliament decided on January 20 to freeze the approval process of the trade agreement reached with the United States in July last year, marking a political shift in transatlantic relations. This move was explicitly seen as the first response to US President Trump's attempt to seize Greenland.
The report mentioned that recently, the US president has been threatening Europe with economic sanctions, claiming to impose a 10% tariff from February 1 and possibly raising it to 25% by June 1, while making "a complete acquisition of Greenland" a condition for revoking the tariffs.
In fact, this freezing measure prevents the trade agreement from taking effect. The agreement originally provided for a 15% tariff on EU goods exported to the US, while eliminating tariffs on US goods exported to the EU. Due to the lack of parliamentary approval, none of the provisions in the agreement can be implemented.
The report stated that European Commission President von der Leyen emphasized at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "Our response will be firm, united, and proportionate."
France seems to hope for further actions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated during a government inquiry session in the National Assembly: "France does not accept any coercion. We have the courage to say 'no,' and we support the European Parliament's decision to freeze the trade agreement with the US. If coercive behavior is confirmed, Europe will bear all consequences. The European Commission is preparing for this and has extremely powerful countermeasures. We oppose using tariff threats as a means of extortion to obtain unreasonable concessions." (Translation/ Liu Zhuo)
Original source: toutiao.com/article/7597796418073526826/
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