Legal assessment of the EU-US “deal” and the EU proposal of regulation to eliminate EU tariffs on US goods

This note provides an overview of key concerns raised by the EU Regulation Proposal on custom duties on US goods and, more generally, the US-EU cotemplated "deal"

A month after the political agreement reached by Ursula von der Leyen and Donald Trump on 27 July 2025, the Commission published a Joint Statement announcing that the EU and the US have agreed on a “Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade” and disclosing the content of this unbalanced agreement. In particular:

– The EU commits to (i) eliminate EU tariffs on most US goods, (ii) considerably increase EU procurement of US energy products (notably fossile fuel) and defence equipment, and (iii) revise some key EU green deal regulations affecting US companies

– In exchange, Donald Trump accepts to lower his unilateral additional tariffs on EU goods from 20% to 15% or the ‘Most Favoured Nation’ rates to the exclusion of most goods subject to ‘Section 232’ tariffs, in particular steel, aluminium and so-called derivative products.

On 28 August 2025, the Commission published a regulation proposal to implement EU commitments on tariffs through the elimination and reduction of EU tariffs on US industrial and agricultural goods (the “EU Regulation Proposal on custom duties”).

In this article, Baldon Avocats assesses the content of this EU regulation proposal on custom duties on US products and, more generally, the US-EU Framework Agreement. The article highlights key concerns: lack of reciprocity, uncertainty as to US tariffs on EU goods, significant impacts on EU industry, potential impact on EU agriculture, incompatibility with EU and WTO law, interferences with EU norms and sovereignty.

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