BRUSSELS — The EU should not “overload” its fragile trade deal with the United States by making a lot of extra demands, Commissioner for Trade Maroš Šefčovič told POLITICO on Friday.

Ahead of a visit to Washington next week, Šefčovič said he wants both the U.S. and the EU to “respect the bargain” that was struck last July at President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland and enshrined in a joint statement the following month.

“A deal is a deal,” the Slovak commissioner said in a telephone interview from South Korea, pushing “not to overload the discussion […] with all other global issues.”

“There is a clear preference on the U.S. side to stick to the deal as we agreed it. And it’s also their preference on our side,” Šefčovič said.

In D.C. patience with the EU’s slowness in enacting the deal has worn thin. The commissioner only this week began negotiations with EU capitals and lawmakers to find a compromise on implementing the EU’s side of the bargain, under which the bloc would scrap all tariffs on U.S. industrial goods.

The European Parliament has proposed several amendments to the two legal texts that would lower the U.S. tariffs: It added a so-called sunrise clause for the deal to kick in only after the U.S. reduces tariffs on products containing steel, and a sunset clause under which the deal would expire in March 2028.

Asked about those conditions, Šefčovič said: “It’s very difficult to preclude the outcome of the negotiation. I just would like to have a clean result.”

He added: “I very much appreciate the position of the Council,” referring to the endorsement by EU member countries of the Turnberry deal last November without any additional requirements.

Cracks are appearing in the Council, meanwhile, with France aligning more closely with the European Parliament. Germany, meanwhile, opposes both the sunrise and sunset clauses called for by MEPs.

“I was hoping for a very swift process,” Šefčovič added. “I understand the deliberation in the European Parliament takes more time, but I hope that we can get to an outcome which would clearly underline and confirm the deal from Turnberry.”

EU lawmakers were moved to add the extra conditions by Trump’s threats to annex Greenland and impose an embargo on EU member Spain over its refusal to make its airbases available for U.S. air strikes on Iran. Their skepticism towards the deal has been reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the original U.S. tariffs on which it was based.

Šefčovič disagreed.

“We should focus on the key subject matter and not overload the discussion on these two regulations with all other global issues,” he said, arguing that they are technical measures to lower tariff lines on certain products.