The EU Council today gave the final green light for the EU-U.S. trade agreement to take effect, by adopting the two regulations implementing the tariff commitments set out in the EU-US Joint Statement of August 21, 2025.

Today’s approval completes the ratification process for the agreement by the EU, following the European Parliament’s “green light” last week, allowing it to enter into force before the July 4 deadline set by the president of the U.S. president, Donald Trump.

According to a Council statement, the completion of the legislative process and the final approval of the agreement reaffirm the EU’s commitment to a stable, predictable, and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade relationship, while maintaining the necessary safeguards to protect European economic interests.

The two regulations eliminate the remaining EU customs duties on U.S. industrial products, introduce preferential access for certain U.S. seafood and non-sensitive agricultural products through tariff-rate quotas and reduced tariffs, and extend the suspension of tariffs on lobster imports, including processed lobster (from all countries under the most-favored-nation treatment).

The agreement is part of the compromise reached last summer between Brussels and Washington, with the EU committing to eliminate most tariffs on U.S. products and the U.S. limiting the tariffs it had imposed on European imports to 15%.

A special safeguard mechanism is provided for, allowing the Commission to act swiftly in the event of a significant increase in imports from the U.S.

At the same time, the EU reserves the right to suspend the planned preferences if the U.S. fails to honor its commitments, including, among other things, regarding additional duties on products containing steel and aluminum.

The EU-U.S. trade agreement will enter into force the day after the two regulations are published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The main regulation will remain in effect until the end of 2029. By June 30 of that year, the European Commission will submit an assessment of its impact on EU-U.S. trade flows, on tariff revenue, and on the economy, accompanied, if necessary, by a proposal to extend its application. The regulation on lobster imports will take effect retroactively as of August 1, 2025, and will remain in force until July 31, 2030.

The EU and the U.S. maintain the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment relationship, accounting for nearly 30% of global trade in goods and services and 43% of global GDP.

Bilateral trade in goods and services exceeded 1.7 trillion euros in 2025, while mutual investments between the two sides exceeded 4.8 trillion euros in 2024.