Adjustment of customs duties and opening of tariff quotas for the import of certain goods originating in the United States of America

PURPOSE: to maintain additional opportunities for EU and US operators and avoid the deterioration of trade relations with the United States by not applying or reducing customs duties.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: on 21 August 2025, the EU and the United States issued a Joint Declaration on a European Union-United States Framework Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. In the Joint Declaration, the United States committed to amending, in accordance with this political agreement, certain customs duties applicable to imports of products originating in the EU, by lowering the applicable rate to an overall tariff ceiling of 15%. As part of this political agreement and, as set out in the Joint Declaration of 21 August 2025, the Union has expressed its intention to eliminate customs duties on all industrial products originating in the United States and to grant preferential market access for certain seafood and agricultural products.

CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal for a regulation is to provide for the non-application of customs duties on all industrial products originating in the United States and to grant preferential market access for certain seafood and agricultural products originating in the United States. Of all industrial products originating in the United States, 66% were already subject to duty-free entry in 2024. Under the proposed regulation, customs duties will be suspended for the remaining industrial products, representing 34% of industrial product imports in 2024.

For seafood and agricultural products, it is proposed that, where there is an EU interest in facilitating imports, preferential market access be granted only to non-sensitive agricultural products. This involves the partial liberalisation of certain agricultural products and tariff rate quotas.

A parallel proposal for a regulation aims to extend the duty-free entry regime for lobster and now extend it to processed lobster.

Budgetary impact

The liberalisation of customs duties on certain US products (agricultural, seafood, and industrial) will result in a decrease in revenue for the European Union budget. In 2024, this loss is estimated at EUR 3.6 billion, including:

- agriculture: EUR 172.5 million,

- seafood: EUR 47 million,

- industrial products: EUR 3.4 billion.