EU-US tariffs: the 31 December 2026 review

What the regulation sets out

Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 is the instrument through which the European Union applies the tariff commitments of the Joint Statement with the United States of 21 August 2025. It was adopted on 25 June 2026, published in the Official Journal on 30 June and applies from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2029.

Its title describes it: it adjusts customs duties on certain goods originating in the United States and opens tariff quotas for others. It governs what the Union applies to US imports, but it includes mechanisms that depend on how Washington treats European products.

The key date: steel and aluminium

Article 3(2) empowers the Commission to suspend the application of Article 1 to goods in chapters 72, 73 and 76 of the Combined Nomenclature if, on 31 December 2026, the United States still applies a rate above 15 % to steel and aluminium derivatives imported from the Union.

Chapters 72, 73 and 76 cover iron and steel, articles of iron or steel, and aluminium and articles thereof. By 1 December 2026 at the latest, the Commission must report to the European Parliament and the Council on the tariff treatment the United States gives those derivatives.

Who is affected and what does not change

The possible suspension concerns what the Union applies to US products, not what the United States charges. Even so, it is the clearest signal of where the Union sets the bar: a 15 % ceiling for European steel and aluminium derivatives.

It directly affects anyone exporting goods of chapters 72, 73 and 76 from the Union to the United States, for example structures, fasteners, metal packaging or aluminium profiles. The regulation's own recitals acknowledge that US tariffs hit SMEs disproportionately. It also provides for a full evaluation of its effects before 30 June 2029.

What to do before year-end

1. 01

   Confirm your code

   Check whether your product falls in chapters 72, 73 or 76. A wrongly assigned tariff code changes the treatment the goods receive.

2. 02

   Check what the US applies to your product

   Look up the tariff treatment in force at destination for your heading and note it with the date. It is the figure the Commission will compare with 15 %.

3. 03

   Mark 1 and 31 December

   The Commission's report and the review date are the two moments when the picture can change. Review your open offers before those dates.

4. 04

   Check who pays the duty

   Look in your contracts and the Incoterm to see who bears import duties and what happens if they change during the validity of the offer.

How Exporta helps you

With Exporta you can open the market report for the United States for your product and see tariffs, demand and competition in one place. If you would rather not depend on a single destination, Find customers gives you importers and distributors in other markets with the decision-maker.

The CRM sends your proposals from your own email and Xport, the assistant, helps you prepare the work.