EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed new rules to cut or remove a range of EU tariffs on US goods, including industrial products and lobster.
The deal — reached by the EU Council presidency and the Parliament — covers two regulations designed to implement the tariff-related parts of the EU-US Joint Statement agreed on 21 August 2025, the Council informed on Wednesday.
One regulation removes remaining EU customs duties on US industrial goods and grants preferential access for some US seafood and “non-sensitive” agricultural products, including through tariff rate quotas — lower-tariff limits for specified import volumes — and reduced tariffs.
The second regulation extends a suspension of EU duties on lobster imports, including processed lobster, and will apply retroactively from 1 August 2025.
Michael Damianos, Cyprus’s minister for energy, commerce and industry, said the EU was “deliver[ing] on its commitments” and that the agreement included safeguards to protect European interests, businesses and workers.
Safeguards, a sunset clause and monitoring
The package includes a safeguard mechanism allowing the European Commission to examine whether a significant rise in US imports is causing or threatening “serious injury” to EU producers, following a request from at least three member states, EU industry, trade unions, or on the Commission’s own initiative, the Council said.
The Commission would be able to suspend the tariff changes in whole or in part if there is sufficient evidence, it added.
The agreement also strengthens conditions for suspending the measures if the United States fails to meet Joint Statement commitments or takes actions that undermine its objectives or disrupt EU-US trade and investment relations, including discrimination against EU economic operators.
The Commission would also be able to suspend concessions on steel and aluminium products exported to the US if, by 31 December 2026, the US still applies a tariff above 15% on steel and aluminium derivative products imported from the EU.
A sunset clause would end the main regulation at the end of 2029 unless further action is taken.
The Commission must report to the Council and Parliament on trade volumes and values for covered goods six months after the regulation takes effect and every three months after that, and produce a broader assessment six months before the measures expire, including impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Council said EU-US trade in goods and services totalled about €1.7 trillion in 2024, and that the Commission proposed the two regulations on 28 August 2025.
