[CTC] Joint Statement on a United States-European Union Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*Some initial analysis…*

** U.S. agrees to reduce and/or limit tariffs on key imports like autos,
aerospace and pharmaceuticals if the EU introduces legislation about market
access  No requirement for the EU legislation to be passed and implemented.*

** Large EU purchases of U.S. energy, military goods and AI chips are
“intended,” “expected,” “planned” — not required.*

** EU “commits" to address U.S. business concerns regarding its Carbon
Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Deforestation Regulation, Corporate
Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Corporate Sustainability
Reporting Directive.*

** The U.S. and EU commit to addressing “unjustified digital trade
barriers” and the EU confirms it will not adopt or maintain network usage
fees.*



https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/08/joint-statement-on-a-united-states-european-union-framework-on-an-agreement-on-reciprocal-fair-and-balanced-trade/


*Joint Statement on a United States-European Union Framework on an
Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade *

The United States and the European Union are pleased to announce that
they have agreed on a Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and
Balanced Trade (“Framework Agreement”). This Framework Agreement represents
a concrete demonstration of our commitment to fair, balanced, and mutually
beneficial trade and investment.  This Framework Agreement will put our
trade and investment relationship – one of the largest in the world – on a
solid footing and will reinvigorate our economies’ reindustrialization. It
reflects acknowledgement by the European Union of the concerns of the
United States and our joint determination to resolve our trade imbalances
and unleash the full potential of our combined economic power. The United
States and the European Union intend this Framework Agreement to be a first
step in a process that can be further expanded over time to cover
additional areas and continue to improve market access and increase their
trade and investment relationship.

The key terms include:

1. The European Union intends to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial
goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of
U.S. seafood and agricultural goods, including tree nuts, dairy products,
fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, processed foods, planting seeds,
soybean oil, and pork and bison meat. The European Union
will immediately take the necessary steps to extend the Joint Statement of
the United States and the European Union on a Tariff Agreement announced on
August 21, 2020, with respect to lobster (that expired 31 July
2025), coupled with an expanded product scope to include processed lobster.

2. The United States commits to apply the higher of either the U.S. Most
Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate or a tariff rate of 15 percent, comprised
of the MFN tariff and a reciprocal tariff, on originating goods of the
European Union. Additionally, effective as of 1 September 2025, the United
States commits to apply only the MFN tariff to the following products of
the European Union: unavailable natural resources (including
cork), all aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and their
ingredients and chemical precursors. The United States and the European
Union agree to consider other sectors and products that are important for
their economies and value chains for inclusion in the list of products for
which only the MFN tariffs would apply.

3. The United States intends to promptly ensure that the tariff rate,
comprised of the MFN tariff and the tariff imposed pursuant to Section 232
of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, applied to originating goods of the
European Union subject to Section 232 actions on pharmaceuticals,
semiconductors, and lumber does not exceed 15 percent. When the European
Union formally introduces the necessary legislative proposal to enact the
tariff reductions set forth in Section 1 of this Framework Agreement, the
United States will reduce tariffs on automobiles and automobile parts
originating from the European Union subject to Section 232 tariffs as
follows: No Section 232 automobile or automobile parts tariffs will apply
to covered European Union goods with an MFN tariff of 15 percent or higher;
and for covered goods with an MFN rate lower than 15 percent, a combined
rate of 15 percent, comprised of the MFN tariff and Section 232 automobile
tariffs, will be applied. These tariff reductions are expected to be
effective from the first day of the same month in which the European
Union’s legislative proposal is introduced. The United States expects the
European Union’s legislative proposals will be consistent with
this Framework Agreement and enacted by the necessary legislatures. All
modifications to U.S. Section 232 tariffs will be executed in a manner that
reinforces and is consistent with U.S. national security interests. With
respect to steel, aluminum, and their derivative products, the European
Union and the United States intend to consider the possibility to cooperate
on ring-fencing their respective domestic markets from overcapacity, while
ensuring secure supply chains between each other, including through
tariff-rate quota solutions.

4. The United States and the European Union will negotiate rules of
origin that ensure that the benefits of the Agreement on Reciprocal
Trade accrue predominately to the United States and the European Union.

5. The United States and the European Union commit to cooperate on ensuring
secure, reliable, and diversified energy supplies, including by addressing
non-tariff barriers that might restrict bilateral energy trade.  As part of
this effort, the European Union intends to procure U.S. liquified natural
gas, oil, and nuclear energy products with an expected offtake valued at
$750 billion through 2028. In addition, the European Union intends to
purchase at least $40 billion worth of U.S. AI chips for its computing
centers. The European Union further plans to work with the United States to
adopt and maintain technology security requirements in line with those of
the United States. in a concerted effort to avoid technology leakage to
destinations of concern. The United States will endeavor to facilitate such
exports once such requirements are in place.

6. The United States and the European Union share one of the world’s
largest economic relationships, supported by mutual investment stocks
exceeding $5 trillion, and intend to promote and facilitate mutual
investments on both sides of the Atlantic. In this context, European
companies are expected to invest an additional $600 billion across
strategic sectors in the United States through 2028. This investment
reflects the European Union’s strong commitment to the transatlantic
partnership and its recognition of the United States as the most secure and
innovative destination for foreign investment.

7. The European Union plans to substantially increase procurement of
military and defense equipment from the United States, with the support and
facilitation of the U.S. government.  This commitment reflects a shared
strategic priority to deepen transatlantic defense industrial cooperation,
strengthen NATO interoperability, and ensure that European allies are
equipped with the most advanced and reliable defense technologies available.

8. The United States and the European Union commit to work together
to reduce or eliminate non-tariff barriers. With respect to automobiles,
the United States and the European Union intend to accept and provide
mutual recognition to each other’s standards. Cooperation on standards
plays a crucial role in enhancing the transatlantic marketplace. The
European Union and United States commit to enhance opportunities for
technical cooperation between EU- and U.S.-domiciled standards development
organizations with the objective of identifying and developing standards
for the transatlantic marketplace in key sectors of mutual interest.  The
United States and the European Union commit to facilitate conformity
assessments to cover additional industrial sectors.

9. Recognizing the importance of continued
engagement to resolve longstanding concerns, the European Union and the
United States commit to work together to address non-tariff barriers
affecting trade in food and agricultural products, including streamlining
requirements for sanitary certificates for pork and dairy products.

10. Recognizing that production of the relevant commodities within the
territory of the United States poses negligible risk to global
deforestation, the European Union commits to work
to address the concerns of U.S. producers and exporters regarding the EU
Deforestation Regulation, with a view to avoiding undue impact
on U.S.-EU trade.

11. Taking note of the U.S. concerns related to treatment of U.S. small and
medium-sized businesses under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
(CBAM), the European Commission, in addition to the recently agreed
increase of the de minimis exception, commits to work to provide additional
flexibilities in the CBAM implementation.

12. The European Union commits to undertake efforts to ensure that the
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Corporate
Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) do not pose undue restrictions
on transatlantic trade.  In the context of CSDDD, this includes undertaking
efforts to reduce administrative burden on businesses, including small- and
medium-sized enterprises, and to propose changes to the requirement for
a harmonized civil liability regime for due diligence failures and
to climate-transition-related obligations.  The European Union commits
to work to address U.S. concerns regarding the imposition of CSDDD
requirements on companies of non-EU countries with
relevant high-quality regulations.

13. The European Union reaffirms that U.S. conformity assessment
bodies can be designated as Notified Bodies in accordance with the Sectoral
Annex for Telecommunications Equipment to the Agreement on Mutual
Recognition Between the European Community and the United States (1998) to
carry out the tasks in relation to all essential requirements, including
cybersecurity, in the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU.  In addition,
the United States and the European Union will commit to negotiate a mutual
recognition agreement on cybersecurity.

14. The European Union and the United States commit to strengthen
cooperation and action related to the imposition of export restrictions
on critical mineral and other similar resources by third countries.

15. The United States and the European Union commit to discuss
high-standard commitments related to intellectual property
rights protection and enforcement.

16. The European Union and the United States commit to work together
to ensure strong protection of internationally recognized labor rights,
including with regard to the elimination of forced labor in supply chains.

17. The United States and the European Union commit to address unjustified
digital trade barriers. In that respect, The European Union confirms that
it will not adopt or maintain network usage fees. The United States and
the European Union will not impose customs duties on electronic
transmissions. The United States and the European Union intend to continue
to support the multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic
transmissions at the World Trade Organization and seek the adoption of a
permanent multilateral commitment.

18. The European Union intends to consult with the United States and U.S.
traders on digitalization of trade procedures and implementation of the
legislation currently proposed on EU Customs Reform.

19. The United States and the European Union agree to strengthen economic
security alignment to enhance supply chain resilience and innovation by
taking complementary actions to address non-market policies of third
parties as well as cooperating on inbound and outbound investment reviews
and export controls, as well as duty evasion. This includes addressing
non-market practices, unfair competition, and lack of reciprocity in public
procurement with respect to third countries. The United States and the
European Union will cooperate on further implementation measures.

The United States and the European Union, in line with their relevant
internal procedures, will promptly document the Agreement on Reciprocal,
Fair, and Balanced Trade to implement this Framework Agreement.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826
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