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EU Parliament, Council Strike Provisional Deal to Honor US Trade Pact

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EU Parliament, Council Strike Provisional Deal to Honor US Trade Pact

The European Council and Parliament on Wednesday provisionally agreed on regulations that will fulfill the EU's commitments in a trade deal reached with the US in July 2025.

Welcomed by the European Commission, the political agreement will see the removal of remaining customs duties on US industrial goods and the provision of preferential market access for certain US seafood and non-sensitive agricultural products. The duty suspension for lobster imports, including processed lobster, will also be retroactively extended from Aug. 1, 2025.

The concessions are in exchange for the US maintaining a maximum tariff ceiling of 15% for most EU exports, including cars and car parts, and exempting additional tariffs for several important product groups such as unavailable natural resources, aircraft and parts, and generic pharmaceuticals.

"A deal is a deal, and the EU honours its commitments," Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, writing that the bloc will soon deliver its part of the EU-US deal. "I now call on the co-legislators to move swiftly and finalise the process."

The new regulation also features a safeguard mechanism that allows the European Commission to partially or completely suspend the implementation in case sufficient evidence shows "serious injury" to domestic producers from significant increases in imports. The commission may also halt concessions for steel and aluminum products to the US if the latter continues to levy over 15% tariffs by Dec. 31, 2026.

"Today's agreement ensures that the key objectives of the EU-US Joint Statement - maintaining stable, fair, predictable and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade and investment - are achieved, and opens the path to boosting transatlantic trade by exploring further areas for reducing tariffs for EU exports," the commission said.

The Parliament and Council are expected to formally adopt the agreed final texts over the coming weeks.

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