The EU cut its tariff on US industrial goods to zero on July 1, 2026. What changed for US manufacturers, and what didn't

Until this summer, a US-made pump, light fixture or plastic part entering the EU paid a customs duty its European competitors never paid. Since July 1, 2026, that gap is gone for almost every industrial product. The fine print decides whether your distributor actually gets the zero, and none of it removes the work of getting a product onto a European shelf.

Putting it simply: under Regulation (EU) 2026/1455, US-origin industrial goods enter the EU at 0% duty from July 1, 2026 until December 31, 2029, unless the EU extends or suspends it. Product rules, import VAT, the customs declaration and proof of US origin all still apply. The duty was a small part of the landed price for most industrial goods; the bigger question was, and still is, who will sell your product in each country.

What the arrangement is, in plain words

On July 27, 2025, the President of the European Commission and the President of the United States reached a political agreement. It was written down in the Joint Statement of August 21, 2025, a framework rather than a full trade agreement. In it, the EU said it intends "to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods" and to give preferential access to a list of US seafood and farm products, including tree nuts, dairy, fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, processed foods, planting seeds, soybean oil, and pork and bison meat.

The US side committed to charge EU goods the higher of its MFN (most-favored-nation) rate or 15%, an all-inclusive ceiling, and only the MFN rate on a short list: unavailable natural resources such as cork, all aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients, and chemical precursors. Steel and aluminum were left out of the ceiling; the Joint Statement only says both sides will consider cooperating on overcapacity.

The EU implemented its half through an act of the European Parliament and the Council: Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 of June 25, 2026, published in the Official Journal on June 30, 2026. Parliament voted its position on June 16 and the Council approved it on June 25. Article 8 says it applies from July 1, 2026 until December 31, 2029. By June 30, 2029, the Commission must publish a full assessment and, where appropriate, a proposal to extend it. A companion act, Regulation (EU) 2026/1461, keeps EU duties off live, frozen and processed lobster until July 31, 2030.

The US side has moved since. The EU regulation records a temporary US import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, proclaimed February 20, 2026, and says some EU goods had the 15% ceiling only "until 24 February 2026". As of October 21, 2026, we could not confirm from a US government source which rates the US currently charges on EU goods. For a US exporter, that matters because the EU's zero is conditional.

Which US goods got the zero, and what stayed out

Annex I of the regulation lists the goods at 0%. For industrial products it works by whole chapters of the EU's Combined Nomenclature: chapters 25 to 97, from minerals, chemicals and plastics through machinery (84), electrical equipment (85), vehicles (87), aircraft (88), instruments and medical devices (90), furniture and lighting (94) and toys and sports goods (95). The exceptions are narrow. Mannitol and sorbitol (in chapters 29 and 38), certain flavoring mixtures for the food and drink industry (in chapter 33) and textile finishing agents based on starch (in chapter 38) are out of the zero rate (mannitol, sorbitol and the flavoring mixtures get tariff-rate quotas in Annex III instead). In chapter 35 only glues (3506) and enzymes (3507) are in.

Farm and food goods are handled differently:

• Selected lines at 0% in Annex I, such as certain potatoes, onions, asparagus, sweet peppers and some fruit juices.
• Ad valorem duty removed, entry-price duty kept in Annex II, for products like tomatoes, cucumbers and some oranges.
• Tariff-rate quotas in Annex III: twenty quotas, from pigmeat (25,000 metric tons a year) and bison (3,000 metric tons) to cheeses, nuts (500,000 metric tons), soybean oil, Alaska pollock, chocolate and food preparations. The first 12-month quota period started July 1, 2026.

Three conditions sit on top. Under Article 3, the Commission can suspend the zero, in whole or in part, if the US fails to implement the Joint Statement or otherwise undermines it. Article 3(2) adds a specific date: if on December 31, 2026, the US still charges more than 15% on EU steel and aluminum derivative products, the Commission can suspend the zero for US goods in chapters 72, 73 and 76 (iron and steel, articles of iron or steel, aluminum). And Article 4 sets up a safeguard if imports surge and seriously injure EU producers. If you sell steel or aluminum products, watch the Commission's report on US treatment of those goods, due by December 1, 2026.

What did not change

The regulation says it in one line (recital 19): "Access to the Union market is conditional on compliance with applicable Union law." A duty of zero does not lower any other bar.

Origin: the zero is only for goods that are US-made in the EU's sense

The preference is for goods "originating in the United States". Until the two sides agree preferential rules of origin, Article 6 uses the EU's ordinary, non-preferential rules. Under Article 60 of the Union Customs Code, a product made in more than one country originates where it underwent its "last, substantial, economically-justified processing or working". A product assembled in Ohio from imported parts may or may not qualify; that depends on the product and the work done.

Under Article 61, customs can ask the declarant, usually your distributor or its customs broker, to prove the origin. A new Article 59a in the Commission's implementing rules (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1422) adds a condition for this regulation only: the proof must also show that the goods were transported directly from the US, or stayed under customs supervision while passing through another country, with no alteration beyond keeping them in good condition or labeling them. A shipment routed through a non-EU warehouse needs paperwork showing that.

In practice, expect your EU importer to ask for more than a "Made in USA" line on the invoice: an origin statement backed by where and how the product is made, plus transport documents. What satisfies a given customs office is a question for your customs broker and your importer's broker, before the first shipment.

The money: a worked example

The rates below are from TARIC, the EU's integrated tariff database, checked for US origin on October 21, 2026. Each code shows the general third-country duty and, beside it, "Tariff preference (01-07-2026 - ): 0 %" for the United States under Regulation 2026/1455.

This assumes the customs value equals the invoice; duty is actually charged on the customs value, which usually includes freight and insurance to the EU border, so the saving is slightly larger.

For much machinery and electrical equipment the duty was already low; 1.7% or 2.7% rarely decides a deal. For plastics and other higher-rate lines, 6.5% is real margin for the importing distributor. Look up your own code; do not use ours.

What changes in your route to market

Before July 1, a distributor comparing your product with a German or Italian one paid duty on yours and none on theirs, since no customs duties are levied between EU countries. For most industrial goods that difference is gone, if your product meets the origin test. The landed-price gap between you and a European maker is now freight, lead time and your price, not the tariff.

That shifts the hard question from cost to distribution. A distributor still has to want a new line, stock it and sell it in the local language. The trade-offs between a distributor, a subsidiary or selling direct online are unchanged; the costs are in distributor vs. subsidiary vs. direct online, and the wider case for moving now is in why export to Europe now. For the step-by-step approach, start with the US playbook for entering the EU through distributors.

The useful first step is a list of who already sells your category in each country. Public contract award notices are one source of that evidence. Cresques builds that list from notices published on TED since November 2023: you create a market (a country plus the CPV categories you sell) and see which companies won contracts in that category, each award traceable to its notice. The Free plan covers one market map; prices are on /pricing. Cresques does not help anyone bid for public contracts, and the notices show only public-sector sales.

What this means for a US manufacturer

• Check your code in TARIC with origin "United States" and confirm the 0% preference line.
• Prepare origin evidence now: production records that support US origin, and transport documents showing a direct route. Agree with your importer what its broker needs.
• Price with the zero, plan for change. It is law until December 31, 2029, but can be suspended; steel and aluminum lines face a December 31, 2026 review date.
• Nothing else got easier: CE marking, an EU responsible person, EUDR where relevant, the customs declaration and import VAT.
• Spend the saving on distribution. The deciding factor is the partner who already sells your category in the country. More in this series at /for/us-manufacturers.

This is general information, not customs or tax advice. Check classification, origin and duty with your customs broker before you quote.