Tariffs: EU Parliament approves agreement with US, subject to conditions

Milan, 26 March (LaPresse) – The European Parliament has approved two legislative proposals implementing the tariff provisions of the EU-US trade agreement reached in Turnberry, Scotland. The texts, if agreed with EU governments, will eliminate most tariffs on US industrial goods and guarantee preferential market access for a wide range of US fish and agricultural products, in line with the commitments made in the summer of 2025 between the EU and the United States. The two legislative acts were adopted by 417 votes to 154, with 71 abstentions (adjustment of customs duties and opening of tariff quotas for the import of certain goods originating in the United States) and by 437 votes to 144, with 60 abstentions (non-application of customs duties on imports of certain goods). In the agreement, MEPs voted in favour of including certain clauses. They strengthened the proposed suspension clause, which would allow tariff preferences with the United States to be suspended under a set of conditions. For example, the Commission could propose the total or partial suspension of trade preferences if the United States were to impose additional duties exceeding the agreed limit of 15%, or new types of duties on goods originating in the EU. The clause could also be triggered if the US, for example, were to undermine the objectives of the agreement, discriminate against EU economic operators, threaten the territorial integrity of Member States or their foreign and defence policies, or resort to economic coercion. MEPs have also introduced a ‘sunrise clause’, which stipulates that the new trade preferences will only enter into force if the US fulfils its commitments. These commitments include the US reducing tariffs on EU products with a steel and aluminium content of less than 50% to a maximum of 15%. Furthermore, for EU products containing more than 50% steel and aluminium, should the US fail to reduce its tariffs to a maximum of 15%, the EU’s tariff preferences for US exports of steel, aluminium and derived products would cease to apply six months after the regulation enters into force. MEPs also agreed on an expiry date for the main regulation, set at 31 March 2028. This deadline may only be extended by means of a new legislative proposal, to be submitted following a thorough impact assessment of the regulation’s effects.