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The deal will now be further negotiated by EU trade representatives Maroš Šefčovič and his U.S. counterpart Jamieson Greer, who are meeting March 27.

Andrew Puzder’s remarks come as the full European Parliament prepares for a vote March 26 on the EU-U.S. trade deal negotiated last year.

The European Parliament’s trade committee will vote March 19 on the accord, which will then go to a full plenary vote later this month or in April.

The U.S., Japan and the EU are set to announce plans in the coming weeks to lay the foundation for a trade agreement in critical minerals, according to people familiar with the preparations.

Top EU lawmakers on the parliament’s trade committee made the choice on March 4, saying they wanted more information from Washington about how it will preserve a 15% ceiling on most EU products.

Trump’s new policy will increase duties above the maximum allowed level on European exports including cheese, butter, some agricultural products, and several plastics, textiles and chemicals.

European Union officials believe the U.S. will soon streamline its broad tariffs on products containing steel and aluminum, a topic that’s been an irritant in transatlantic relations.

The main political groups in the European Parliament say they’ll suspend legislative work on approving the trade deal on Feb. 23, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down reciprocal tariffs.

Two of Europe’s biggest auto manufacturers, Volkswagen AG and Stellantis NV, are pressuring the European Union to better protect the bloc’s troubled auto industry.

The Trump administration hosted 55 countries at a critical-minerals summit Feb. 4, pitching price floors and a flood of U.S. private equity in a bid to reduce dependence on China.