Although the two sides shook hands on the trade deal at Trump’s Scottish golf resort last July, Brussels still hasn’t passed legislation to keep its side of the bargain by scrapping duties on U.S. industrial goods. The accord, criticized by many in Europe as one-sided, foresees a 15 percent U.S. duty on most European exports.
Lange, a German Social Democrat, has pushed to add strong safeguards in case Trump intimidates the EU again, as the U.S. president did earlier this year when he threatened to annex Greenland, a Danish territory.
In an interview on Thursday, Lange said he was confident a deal would be reached at the next negotiating round being held either on May 12 or 19. That would pave the way for a plenary vote in the European Parliament in June — one of the final steps before a law can take effect.
“I guess there will be a conclusion at the next meeting,” Lange said. While parliamentary groups were still discussing when to hold a third and possibly final round of talks, Lange said he was “sure” there would be a plenary vote in June.
Timing is everything
While a majority of centrist and left-wing MEPs had called for additional safeguards to be attached to the deal, the European People’s Party — the largest parliamentary group — broadly supports the deal as originally agreed and wants to put it to an early vote.
“We are close to an agreement on the U.S. trade deal, and we cannot afford further delays,” said Manfred Weber, the chair of the center-right EPP.