Last week’s positive vote in the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee marked an important step forward for EU businesses engaged in transatlantic trade. By endorsing the proposals implementing the EU’s commitments under the Turnberry agreement, members of the International Trade Committee sent a clear signal: predictability and stability must be restored.
Now, attention turns to Thursday’s plenary vote.
Delivering on the EU’s commitments is not only about credibility in international negotiations: it is about providing businesses with the certainty they need to invest, plan, and grow. At a time of global economic fragility, delaying implementations would send the wrong signal to companies already navigating a complex trading environment.
For Europe’s spirits sector, the stakes are clear. After months of disruption, uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on producers, farmers, and the hospitality sector that depends on a stable and diverse offering. The committee vote last week was a welcome and necessary step, but it must now be followed by swift adoption in plenary to avoid renewed instability or escalation.
Certainty must be mutual. As the EU moves forward, it is equally essential that the United States respects its own commitments, notably to maintain a 15% tariff ceiling on EU products, regardless of the legal basis used. Only through parallel and good-faith implementation on both sides can the transatlantic relationship regain the balance and predictability that our sectors require. The agreement remains the only way of securing such commitments.
There is also a broader objective within reach – one fully aligned with the commitments made by both parties last summer.
For decades, spirit drinks have stood as a flagship example of successful transatlantic cooperation. The zero-for-zero agreement, based on the reciprocal elimination of tariffs on spirits across the Atlantic, helped drive a 450% increase in EU-US trade in spirits over the past 20 years. More than a trade statistic, this growth translated into real benefits for both large and craft producers, farmers, distributors, and the hospitality sector on both sides of the Atlantic.
Thanks to the zero-for-zero agreement, EU spirits companies have invested in production facilities across the US, including American Whiskey, while many US spirits companies own distilleries in the EU, producing unique and distinctive regional products that embody local heritage and culture. This mutually reinforcing success extends to production: the sale and steady supply of used American Whiskey barrels to EU companies is essential to European whiskey production.
The departure from this framework, combined with ongoing uncertainty, has had tangible consequences. Exports have been hit, investment decisions delayed, and hospitality operators have faced additional pressures at a time when recovery remains uneven.
This is why the next step must be clear: building on the Turnberry commitments to secure a full and durable return to the reciprocal zero-for-zero for spirits.
Such an outcome is not only achievable: it is pragmatic. It would restore a proven model that supports growth, strengthens transatlantic value chains, and delivers for businesses and consumers alike.
Spirit drinks are unique due to their distinctive regional identity. These products are not commodities, nor can they be produced elsewhere. And most importantly, the spirits sector in both the US and the EU supports local and rural communities and employment through the creation of quality jobs across its entire supply and value chains – so much so that success on one side of the Atlantic translates into growth on the other.
Our message, together with our counterparts in the United States, has been consistent and united: stability now, with full implementation of commitments made last summer, and a clear path back to our reciprocal zero-for-zero framework as a priority.
Thursday’s plenary vote is therefore more than a procedural step. It is an opportunity for the European Parliament to consolidate progress, reinforce the EU’s credibility, and send a strong signal of support to European exporters.
The path forward is clear. What is needed now is the political will to follow through.
For the spirits sector, and for the wider transatlantic economy, delivering certainty today is the foundation for growth tomorrow.
