The USA unilaterally passed the Copyright Act of 1976, extending copyright to life + 50 years. The reason it did this was because the oldest works still enjoying copyright protection would have expired in 1977.
Only in 1988 did the USA accede to the Berne Convention, and in 1990 acceded to the WTO TRIPS agreement. The EU didn't exist until 1993 (the EEC preceeded it) and the EU didn't try harmonising copyright law even among its own member states until 1993. The EU and USA don't have any trade deals, their last attempt (TTIP) went down in flames.
And then came the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
In 1998, the USA extended its copyright terms - not because any international convention or trade agreement required them to. Again, the timing was because the oldest works still enjoying copyright protection would have expired in 1998. As Disney was openly lobbying Congress, and Mickey was due to enter the public domain in 1999, it becomes fairly clear why the USA did this. Nothing to do with Europe.
Only in 1988 did the USA accede to the Berne Convention, and in 1990 acceded to the WTO TRIPS agreement. The EU didn't exist until 1993 (the EEC preceeded it) and the EU didn't try harmonising copyright law even among its own member states until 1993. The EU and USA don't have any trade deals, their last attempt (TTIP) went down in flames.
And then came the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
In 1998, the USA extended its copyright terms - not because any international convention or trade agreement required them to. Again, the timing was because the oldest works still enjoying copyright protection would have expired in 1998. As Disney was openly lobbying Congress, and Mickey was due to enter the public domain in 1999, it becomes fairly clear why the USA did this. Nothing to do with Europe.