The European Parliament has given its final approval to two pieces of legislation implementing EU tariff commitments under the August 2025 EU-US joint statement.
The main proposal for a regulation eliminates tariffs on all US industrial goods and provides preferential market access for a wide range of US seafood and agricultural goods.
The second proposal for a regulation concerns the prolongation of tariff-free imports of lobster, and now also includes processed lobster.
US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had reached a deal on tariff and trade issues in July 2025 at Turnberry in Scotland.
The main regulation on industrial and agri-food imports will expire on 31 December 2029. By 30 June 2029, the Commission will make a comprehensive assessment of its trade effects on EU industry, agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises, and of changes in trade patterns with third countries, accompanied by a legislative proposal to prolong the regulation’s duration, if appropriate.
In August 2025, the US added 407 product categories to the list of derivative steel and aluminium products subject to tariffs. Parliament considered that these new tariffs increased the level of trade instability and pushed for this issue to be addressed in the main regulation. As a consequence of this, the Commission will now be able to suspend tariff preferences if by 31 December 2026 the US continues to apply a tariff rate higher than 15% on EU steel and aluminium derivatives. The Commission will report to the European Parliament and to the Council, by 1 December 2026, on the tariff treatment of steel and aluminium derivatives.
The Commission will also be able to suspend tariff preferences if the United States fails to address the EU’s concerns regarding the tariff treatment of Union exports which until 24 February 2026 benefitted from the 15% all-inclusive tariff ceiling.
The Parliament and Council also agreed to establish a safeguard mechanism should tariff preferences granted to the US lead to increases in imports that threaten to cause serious injury to EU industry, including the agricultural sector. The Commission will be able to start an investigation on its own initiative, or on the basis of information provided by one or more member states or by the European Parliament. The Commission will also report to the Parliament and the Council on a quarterly basis on changes in trade volumes and values of US exports of the goods covered by this legislation.
Once approved by the Parliament, it will be the Council’s turn to formally approve the agreed texts. The new legislation will then enter into force on the day after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal.
Procedure file: Non-application of customs duties on imports of certain goods
