Amman, Jan. 20 (Petra) - The European Parliament on Tuesday decided to suspend the ratification of the trade agreement between the European Union and the United States in light of recent threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to leaders of the Conservative, Social Democratic, and Liberal parties in Strasbourg.

According to Euronews, the leader of the Social Democrats, Iratxe García Pérez, told reporters that there is a consensus among most political groups to freeze the trade agreement reached last year between Washington and Brussels.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU "should not hesitate" to use anti-coercion mechanisms in response to the U.S. president’s threats of imposing tariffs related to Greenland.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday pledged a "firm" response to Trump’s repeated threats regarding Greenland and increased tariffs.

She said, "The EU and the United States reached a trade agreement last July. In politics as in trade, an agreement is an agreement. And when friends shake hands, it means something." Von der Leyen noted that Trump agreed last year not to impose additional tariffs on EU member states and described the proposed new tariffs on Greenland as "a major mistake, especially between long-standing allies," pledging that the EU’s response "will be firm, unified, and proportionate." //Petra// AF