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Aurore Lalucq, a French MEP who chairs the powerful Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in the European Parliament, told Euronews she does not understand why the EU agreed a trade deal with a US administration she says cannot be trusted.
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Her comments come as the trade agreement sealed in July 2025 by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been thrown into doubt after Trump threatened on Friday to impose 25% tariffs on EU cars — above the 15% ceiling agreed under the deal.
“I don’t see how anyone can strike a deal with an administration that doesn’t keep its word,” Lalucq told Euronews.
“The talking points we were given were that the deal would bring predictability for business. Yet since that much-hyped press conference in July 2025 between Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump, there’s been nothing particularly predictable about any of this.”
Divisions within the Socialists & Democrats
The agreement concluded in Turnberry, Scotland, cuts EU tariffs on US goods to zero while leaving the EU facing 15% tariffs and committing to major investment in the US.
The deal had already been suspended earlier this year by MEPs after Trump used tariffs as leverage in a push to acquire Greenland.
Last week, the US president escalated tensions again, posting on social media that he could impose 25% tariffs on EU cars, following criticism from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the US war in Iran.
European officials hope tensions will be eased on Tuesday during a meeting between EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris. Since Trump’s latest threat, EU leaders have largely stayed silent, wary of fuelling what many see as another provocation from the US president.
Lalucq said European leaders humiliated themselves by signing the deal in the first place.
“We are representatives in the truest sense of the word. When Ursula von der Leyen sits in that room with Donald Trump, the humiliation isn’t personal — it’s Europe being humiliated. We should have taken a far tougher line.”
As a member of the socialist and Democrats group (S&D), Lalucq’s position contrasts with that of another key socialist MEP, Bernd Lange, who chairs the prominent trade committee and has pushed to move the deal forward with safeguards attached.
The split underscores differing views within the S&D, the European Parliament’s second-largest political group, where positions often reflect national interests. Countries more exposed to the US market have generally taken a less confrontational stance than Lalucq regarding the agreement, while still seeking to secure favourable terms.
Those safeguards are currently under discussion between EU governments and lawmakers. One proposal would cut EU tariffs on US industrial goods only if Washington fully complies with the agreement. Another — the so-called “sunset clause” — would terminate the deal in March 2028 unless it is renewed.
EU member states remain split on these issues, with some capitals — led by Germany and Italy — favouring the preservation of the original agreement negotiated by the Commission last summer.
A new round of negotiations is scheduled for Wednesday.
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