EU-US trade relations: Council moves forward in implementing the tariff elements of the Joint Statement

Council decision on tariff elements

The Council has adopted negotiating mandates for two regulations that implement the tariff-related commitments in the EU-US Joint Statement of 21 August 2025, aiming to restore stability and predictability in bilateral trade relations. These mandates allow the EU to move ahead with reciprocal tariff adjustments designed to ease tensions and improve market access for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Regulation on customs duties and tariff quotas

The first regulation focuses on adjusting customs duties and granting tariff rate quotas for US industrial goods and selected seafood and non-sensitive agricultural products. It eliminates remaining customs duties on qualifying US industrial items and offers preferential access, including reduced tariffs and TRQs, while preserving safeguards for sensitive EU sectors.

Oversight and safeguards

Under the mandate, the Commission must continuously monitor the economic impact of these liberalisation measures on the EU economy and present an implementation and impact report to the European Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2028. The Council also strengthens a bilateral safeguard mechanism so the EU can react if imports rise sharply or if domestic producers face serious injury due to the new tariff concessions and quotas.

Rules of origin clarification

The Council mandate further clarifies the rules-of-origin provisions to facilitate administration and enforcement of the regulation. Clearer origin rules are intended to simplify procedures for operators while ensuring that only eligible US products benefit from the new tariff preferences.

Regulation on non-application of duties on lobster

The second regulation deals with the continued non-application of customs duties on imports of certain types of live and frozen lobster from the US. Tariffs on these products had already been removed in December 2020 for a five-year period until July 2025, and the new measure prolongs this suspension and expands it to include processed (prepared) lobster.

The Council chose to keep the Commission’s proposal on lobster unchanged, reflecting broad support for maintaining duty-free access for these products. This approach is expected to give EU importers and US exporters predictable conditions in the lobster trade beyond the original expiry date.

Next steps and broader context

With the mandates now adopted, the Council is ready to begin interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) with the European Parliament to reach final agreement on both regulations. Once adopted, the regulations will operationalise the EU’s side of the tariff commitments in the joint statement and provide legal certainty for businesses affected by the new measures.

The two regulations form the EU’s contribution to a broader framework of reciprocal tariff adjustments agreed with the United States. On the US side, the administration has committed to a 15% “all-inclusive” tariff ceiling on covered items, reductions of “Section 232” tariffs on EU cars and car parts from 27.5% to 15% with retroactive effect from 1 August 2025, exemptions from 15% tariffs for key EU products such as aircraft, aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals, and the application of 15% Section 232 tariffs on timber, lumber and certain derivative products.

Summary

These Council mandates launch the legislative phase for implementing reciprocal EU-US tariff cuts and safeguards, signalling a pragmatic reset in transatlantic trade relations built on targeted concessions, monitoring, and protection of sensitive sectors.

consilium.europa.eu — 2025-11-28