BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / EuroWire / — The European Parliament’s trade committee backed legislation on Tuesday to remove import duties on many goods from the United States, advancing a central part of the EU-US trade framework reached in 2025. The committee approved the measure by 31 votes to six, with three abstentions, in a step that moves the tariff package toward a full parliamentary vote expected in mid-June.
The legislation would eliminate remaining EU customs duties on U.S. industrial goods and grant preferential market access for selected U.S. agricultural and seafood products. A separate provision would continue zero-duty treatment for U.S. lobster imports, extending a tariff suspension that was first agreed in 2020. The package forms part of the tariff-related implementation of the wider EU-US trade arrangement.
Under the 2025 framework, the United States applies a 15% tariff on most EU goods, while the EU side committed to lowering duties on specified U.S. exports. The arrangement followed talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland in July 2025, with a joint statement outlining tariff commitments published the following month.
Tariff package advances
The committee vote followed a provisional agreement reached in May between EU lawmakers and member-state representatives on two regulations covering the tariff elements of the framework. One regulation addresses industrial, seafood and selected non-sensitive agricultural goods, including tariff-rate quotas and reduced duties. The second regulation covers the continued suspension of duties on lobster and processed lobster imports from the United States.
The agreed text includes a sunset clause under which the main regulation will expire on December 31, 2029, unless extended through new legislation. Before that date, the European Commission must carry out an assessment of the regulation’s effects on EU industry, agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, tariff revenue and changes in trade patterns involving third countries.
Safeguards added to text
The legislation also includes safeguards allowing tariff preferences to be suspended if increased imports from the United States threaten serious injury to EU producers, including in agriculture. The Commission may open an investigation on its own initiative or after information is provided by member states or Parliament. The text also requires quarterly reporting on trade volumes and values for covered U.S. exports.
The package contains additional provisions covering steel and aluminium derivatives. If the United States continues after December 31, 2026, to apply a tariff rate above 15% on EU steel and aluminium derivative products, the Commission may suspend related preferences. The full Parliament must still approve the legislation before the measures can proceed to formal adoption and publication in the EU’s official rulebook.