Customs duty from United States to European Union: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• The EU eliminated import duty on most US-origin industrial goods - chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, metals, machinery, vehicles, and aircraft - as part of a 2025-2026 trade framework, effective via EU regulations from June 2026 through 31 December 2029.
• This isn’t a traditional, permanently-ratified free trade agreement - it’s a time-limited executive framework, and its own sunset date (end of 2029) is a genuinely distinctive feature worth knowing.
• Around 20 tariff-rate quotas were added for US agricultural and seafood products, plus a separate 0% duty specifically on US lobster through mid-2030.
• This site’s own product-level duty data doesn’t yet reflect this framework’s category-by-category coverage, since it predates the June 2026 implementation - treat the FTA column in the table below as understating current EU-side treatment of US goods.
• The US is the EU’s second-largest source of goods imports, at roughly €354-355 billion in 2025, with the EU running a large goods trade surplus with the US.

USA-EU Trade at a Glance

The US is the EU’s second-largest source of goods imports, at roughly €354-355 billion in 2025 (14.1% of extra-EU imports), while the EU exported around €554-555 billion to the US - a goods trade surplus for the EU of nearly €200 billion. Total EU-US trade in goods and services reached approximately €1.8 trillion in 2025, the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world (Eurostat; Consilium, “EU-US trade: facts and figures”).

Is There a Trade Deal Between the US and the EU?

Yes, though not a traditional FTA - a framework agreed in principle on 27 July 2025 and formalised in a joint statement on 21 August 2025. You may already know the US side of this deal (a 15% ceiling on US tariffs for EU autos, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors, with steel and aluminium excluded at 50% - see this site’s Germany to US lane page). The EU’s own reciprocal commitment, implemented via two EU regulations adopted 25 June 2026, is what matters for this lane: the EU eliminated import duty on most US-origin industrial goods - chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, textiles, metals, machinery, vehicles, and aircraft - running through 31 December 2029 (Sullivan & Cromwell). Around 20 duty-free or reduced-duty tariff-rate quotas were also added for US agricultural and seafood products, and a separate regulation set 0% duty on US lobster through 31 July 2030, retroactive to 1 August 2025.

How Much Will You Pay Importing from the USA to the EU?

For most industrial goods covered by the framework - a broad category including many consumer electronics, machinery, and manufactured products - customs duty should currently be 0%. This site’s own sourced product-level duty data predates the June 2026 implementation of this framework and doesn’t yet reflect it, so the FTA column in the table below likely understates the real current coverage - don’t assume “not applicable” in that table means the actual rate is nonzero for US-origin goods specifically. Fresh produce keeps its entry-price duty component regardless. Standard EU mechanics otherwise apply: since 1 July 2026, orders under €150 from an IOSS-registered seller pay a flat €3 duty per item type, non-IOSS orders under €150 stay duty-free, and orders over €150 pay VAT (varying by member state) plus any applicable duty plus a handling fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the EU actually cut tariffs on US goods, or was this only about US tariffs on EU exports?

Both, but this page covers the EU’s own side: the EU eliminated duty on most US-origin industrial goods effective from June 2026, a genuine, largely one-directional tariff cut on the EU-import side of the relationship.

Is this a permanent trade agreement?

No - it’s a time-limited executive framework, not a conventionally-ratified permanent FTA. The industrial-goods duty elimination runs through 31 December 2029, and the lobster-specific provision through mid-2030; what happens after those dates isn’t yet determined.

Does the duty rates table below reflect this new US treatment?

Not fully - this site’s product-level data predates the framework’s June 2026 EU implementation, so the table likely understates real current coverage for US-origin goods. Check current EU customs guidance for a specific commodity code if precision matters.

How big is US-EU trade?

The US is the EU’s second-largest source of goods imports, at roughly €354-355 billion in 2025, within a combined EU-US trade and investment relationship worth around €1.8 trillion - the largest bilateral relationship of its kind in the world.