Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on Europe reportedly looking to suspend approval of US trade deal

The European Parliament is planning to suspend approval of the US trade deal that was agreed to last July, according to new reports.

Donald Trump has been ramping up his efforts to acquire Greenland, including threatening new tariffs over the issue.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this could see US-based companies barred from EU contracts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Go to Given Gray, UK correspondent Given, welcome to the show. Hi,
there are now tell us about the European Parliament what
they're planning to do on tariffs.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, this is going to be very very interesting because
of course Donald Trump due to arrive in Davos for
the World Economic Forum, tensions running high already over his
comments about Greenland, which is now doubled down on as
well in the last few hours, saying that it's a
one way thing. He's not going back on his demand
to take Greenland and threatening some European countries with tariffs.

(00:34):
Those countries saying right, well, we're not just going to
stand there and take it. And it looks like the
European Parliament today will later announce it is going to
suspend approval of a US trade deal agreed back in July.
It was a trade deal announced with much fanfair with
Ursula Vonderline, one of the EU Big Weeks as it were,
and Donald Trump, and that was all after Donald Trump

(00:56):
threatened them with thirty percent tariffs. The agreement in the
end was fifteen percent, so yeah, slightly better but still tariffs,
and it was heralded. Is yep, everyone's now happy, Well,
the EU is not happy over Donald Trump's announcement at
Greenland and has decided, right, well, we're just going to
shelve that, put it on ice, and start to put

(01:17):
a bit of pressure on The interesting thing about this
is it may now open up questions about whether the
EU is ready to move forward mid more retaliation against
the UITs, the so called Bazooka measure, which would see
the BLOCK effectively use an anti coercion rule that it
introduced in case China got difficult with them. And this

(01:40):
will basically mean that American companies could be barred from
EU contracts, they could be barred from the free trade market,
and yeah, they could be retaliatory tariffs the other way
as well.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Right, we'll keep a bridge to that one. What about
the train crow another train crash in Spinea.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, and this comes just a few days afterwards that
there have been, of course, the crash on Sunday down
in southern Spain that has killed at least forty now
is the latest estimate. There is believed to be bodies
potentially still trapped in the wreckage of that crash. But

(02:20):
and now a train driver has been killed and at
least thirty seven others injured, five seriously when a commuter
train derailed and crashed near Barcelona are down on the
south coast, And yeah, it comes just sort of forty
eight hours on a little bit more after this crash
in the south of Spain. Now, according to local officials,
the train collided with a retaining wall which had fallen

(02:43):
onto the track and apparently now we understand all the
passengers have been removed from the train. But as I said,
there are five seriously injured and one dead. And it
comes as heavy storms a bat at northeastern Spain and
coastal regions, and they're on high alert because of the weather.
So this was obviously a huge emergency effort as well,

(03:05):
thirty five crews sent by the local fire service. And
I think the Spanish rail system very much under scrutiny
after these two crashes.

Speaker 3 (03:16):
Now, finally French police have started in desceipting migrant boats
on the water for the very first time.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Yes, after huge amounts of pressure from the UK. So
what the French were doing was effectively only intervening when
they see migrants on beaches ready to get on a boat.
They wouldn't physically go in the water and that was
because the excuse being used was it might endanger the
lives of those on the journey, but because they are

(03:43):
already in danger in their lives by getting onto very
small boats, often unseaworthy boats, to try and cross to
the UK. The UK said, look, this is now being
used and abused by the people smugglers, because what they
were doing was they were launching a boat with one
or two people on board from a canal slightly in

(04:03):
land and then there was simply motoring up and down
the coast and the asylum seekers would rush into the
water and then get onto that so called taxi boats
effectively and to get on there in order to get
the journey across, and the police, French police would simply
stand there and watch, saying well, we're not going in
the water, and it made people here in the UK

(04:26):
absolutely irate. There was even a small sort of band
of people from a society here in the UK that
went over to France and were themselves going into the water,
believe it or not, and knifing the boats, damaging the boats,
slitting the inflatable boats so that they couldn't make it across,
and they were threatened with prosecution by France. But finally

(04:46):
now the French, who are paid millions of pounds a
year by the British to try and stop the boats,
are actually getting into the water and starting to do this.
They actually stopped their first one. It has been announced
back at the weekend, but we've only just found this
out and Ryan, it really has been something this government's
been keen they do. But then bewilder numbers in any
way damp and down. Last year there was a massive

(05:09):
number of people that came to the UK from France,
standing at thirty six and a half thousand.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Appreciate your time, Gavin. Thank you. Gevin Gray are UK
europe Correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
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