Elimination of Customs Duties on Industrial Products Originating in the United States of America

1. Background

In the months preceding the publication of this regulation, the tariff measures adopted by the administration of the United States of America gave rise to a period of significant uncertainty in transatlantic trade, with direct effects on the investment and procurement decision-making chains of European economic operators.

In this context, Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2026, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 June 2026 and applicable as from 1 July 2026, constitutes a change of opposite direction: the European Union proceeds to eliminate customs duties on the importation of industrial products originating in the United States. The Regulation concerns the adjustment of customs duties on imports of certain goods originating in the United States of America and the opening of tariff quotas for imports of certain goods originating in the United States of America. It implements the EU’s tariff commitments under the Joint Statement on a European Union-United States Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade of 21 August 2025, following the political agreement reached at Turnberry in July 2025.

2. Essential content

The Regulation establishes, in summary:

(a) The application of a 0% rate of customs duties on the importation into the EU of the majority of industrial products originating in the United States, identified in Annexes I, II and III;

(b) The opening of 20 tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural and seafood products of American origin, providing for tariff reductions within predefined volumes;

(c) A safeguard mechanism empowering the Commission to suspend the application of the benefits where a good originating in the United States is imported into the Union in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to Union production, and under such conditions, as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the Union industry.

3. Practical implications for industrial operators

For economic operators in the industrial sectors, the Regulation produces the following relevant legal and economic consequences:

(i) A reduction in the customs cost of importing raw materials, components, and capital goods of American origin, with effects on the production cost structure;

(ii) The possibility of reassessing supply chains in light of the new tariff framework, particularly with regard to the substitution or diversification of suppliers;

(iii) The need for prior technical verification as a condition for access to the regime, namely, correct tariff classification (CN/HS codes in Annexes I to III) and compliance with the rules on proof of non-preferential origin introduced by Article 59A of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1422 of 25 June 2026 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 as regards the procedural rules concerning the proof of non-preferential origin, including the requirement of a proof of direct transport or non-alteration as part of the proof of non-preferential origin as a condition for the application of adjusted customs duties and quotas, entailing the submission of additional evidence beyond traditional certificates of origin.

4. Note on eligibility

Failure to comply with the eligibility conditions – namely, deficiencies in tariff classification or in proof-of-origin documentation – may result in the inapplicability of the tariff benefit or in disputes with the competent customs authorities. It is therefore considered essential that operators carry out a prior technical assessment of their import flows.