The European Conservatives and Reformists Group is calling for a comprehensive free trade agreement with the United States based on zero tariffs and mutual benefit, a deal that would boost growth and better exploit Europe's economic potential.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, ECR co-chairman Nicola Procaccini said such an agreement would require a new balance between long-standing trading partners - and that the EU could not absolve itself of responsibility for the current escalation of trade tensions.

“We Conservatives believe in a free market that benefits both consumers and producers - those with the greatest skills and talents”, Procaccini said. “But we must also admit that tariff policy has been and still is a European policy - one that has targeted not only those who break market rules, such as China, but also close allies, such as the citizens of the United States.”

“This must be the starting point for a new trade agreement with the US - one with zero tariffs on both sides”, he said.

Procaccini also criticised the EU’s continued energy dependence on Russia, noting that France and Spain still rely on Russian gas as their main source of supply. He also argued that the burden imposed on European industry by the Green Deal amounted to a form of self-inflicted tariff - one that should be lifted.

Mr Procaccini’s speech reads in full:

Thank you, President. We Conservatives believe in a free market that benefits both consumers and producers — those with the greatest skill and talent. But we must also acknowledge that tariff policy has been, and still is, a European policy too. And it has not only been directed at those who flout market rules on a daily basis, like China, but also at valuable allies, such as the citizens of the United States. The most glaring example is that of the automotive sector. Until just a few weeks ago, the United States imposed a 2.5% tariff on European cars. The European Union, by contrast, imposed a 10% tariff on American cars.

That must be the starting point for a free trade agreement with the United States — one with zero tariffs on both sides. This is what Prime Minister Meloni discussed with President Trump in Washington, within a broader political framework in which the unity of the West must be preserved.

Rebalancing the trade relationship with the US is not just an economic issue — it is a political one. The scandal of Russian liquefied natural gas is emblematic of a certain European hypocrisy, and only now does Commissioner Jørgensen appear willing to address it. Do you know which governments have enriched Putin the most in recent years by buying LNG? It’s not Hungary, nor Slovakia, but Macron’s France — with an 81% increase between 2023 and 2024 — and Sánchez’s “green” Spain, which has made Russia its largest gas supplier.

Here is another thing we must do: remove the tariffs the EU has imposed on itself through the Green Deal. That is the right path to take — not the one that leads us towards illiberal communist regimes like China or North Korea.