The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on two Regulations eliminating tariffs on all US industrial goods and providing preferential market access for certain US agricultural and seafood products, in line with the EU commitments made in the EU-US Joint Statement of 21 August 2025. The agreed final texts will now be put forward for formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council over the coming weeks, to ensure their rapid entry into force.
The liberalised market access granted to US exports by the Regulations will ensure that goods needed by EU industry and consumers are cheaper and more readily available, without compromising on any EU sensitivities.
At the same time, in line with usual practice in EU trade agreements, the Regulations offer EU industry strong guarantees against possible trade disruptions through a safeguard clause. Regular monitoring of trade flows will allow for swift action to be taken in the event of an injurious or potentially injurious increase in exports from the US.
The Regulations also give the EU the necessary tools to enforce commitments made in the EU-US Joint Statement. In specifically defined circumstances, the Regulations would allow the EU to respond by suspending in full or in part its tariff concessions.
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.
Next steps
The agreed Regulation texts will now enter into the formal adoption process by the European Parliament and the Council over the coming weeks, to ensure their rapid entry into force.
Once approved, the liberalised market access would be in place until the end of 2029, with the possibility of being extended further.
Background
The transatlantic partnership is the most significant bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world. EU-US trade in goods and services has doubled over the last decade, surpassing €1.8 trillion in 2025, with €911 billion of trade in goods and €865 billion of trade in services. Over €4.9 billion of goods and services cross the Atlantic every day. This deep and comprehensive partnership is underpinned by mutual investment. In 2024, the total stock of EU and US firms investments in each other's markets topped €4.8 trillion.
Commission President von der Leyen and US President Trump agreed on the key parameters of the EU-US deal in July 2025, later reflected in the EU-US Joint Statement of 21 August 2025 which forms the basis for further EU-US trade and economic cooperation.
The US committed to maintain a maximum tariff ceiling of 15% for most EU exports, including cars and car parts, and to provide exclusions from additional tariffs for a number of important product groups such as unavailable natural resources, aircraft and parts and generic pharmaceuticals. In return, the EU committed to eliminate tariffs on all industrial goods and improve market access for certain non-sensitive agri-food products.
The partners also agreed to keep working together to further reduce tariffs on more products, address non-tariff barriers, and cooperate on economic security, critical minerals as well as addressing global steel overcapacity.
