Strasbourg, 9 July 2025
Member of the European Parliament and EPP Group standing rapporteur for trade relations with the United States, Željana Zovko, spoke today at a plenary debate in Strasbourg on trade negotiations with the US administration. The plenary debate is taking place ahead of the deadline for reaching a trade agreement.
Zovko welcomed the positive progress in the negotiations and expressed optimism regarding the achievement of a framework agreement. She emphasized that this deal would bring much needed stability to the European economy, which is facing job losses and diminished trade opportunities.
She also highlighted the importance of cooperation with partners who share the values of freedom and democracy, as well as the need to connect the European single market with democracies around the world, especially in the context of increasingly powerful autocratic regimes that do not follow the same trade rules as the EU.
“Although we are diversifying our trade relations with like-minded partners, we must not forget that a deal with the US would bring certainty to our businesses which are losing employment and trade opportunities everyday. A deal is crucial for the security and prosperity of our economy”, Zovko stressed.
She reminded that it was precisely the United States that provided security to the European Union in its most sensitive moments, which laid the foundation for developing deeper economic cooperation.
“I support efforts for preventive trade diplomacy to avoid any further tensions between us, because 16 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic can no longer afford new uncertainties. We eagerly await the announcement of this agreement, which must not be just a trade deal but the foundation of a long-term partnership and friendship in these geopolitically uncertain times”, Zovko concluded.