Customs agreement: EU sees no signs of termination by Trump

Cool Down Brussels Takes A Relaxed View of the USA Customs Deal

2026-02-26 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

Related Vendor

The EU probably sees no signs that US President Donald Trump wants to destroy the customs agreement concluded last summer ...

After US President Donald Trump once again resorted to his favorite weapon, tariffs, concerns rose in the EU that the so-called tariff deal could become invalid. But it looks as if the sea remains relatively calm ...(Image: F. Schneidler) — After US President Donald Trump once again resorted to his favorite weapon, tariffs, concerns rose in the EU that the so-called tariff deal could become invalid. But it looks as if the sea remains relatively calm ...
(Image: F. Schneidler)

According to a statement from Brussels, the USA has signaled that it will comply with the current agreements. At least that is what a spokesperson for the EU Commission said. However, they are still waiting for a clear explanation of how the whole thing is to be implemented in future. The main focus is on the aspects of reliability and predictability. The unnamed spokesperson pointed out that the new US system, which came into force on Tuesday, largely complies with the agreements. The reason for this positive news is that only an additional duty rate of ten percent has been introduced, which is added to the goods-specific standard duty rate (MFN tariff).

If Nothing More is Added, the Customs Deal Will Remain in Place

As is well known, Trump reacted following a decision by the US Supreme Court because the justification for a large part of the Republican's previous tariffs was declared unlawful. This caused concern in the EU. However, the majority of EU exports are below the upper limit of 15 percent agreed with the USA if the new ten percent is added to the MFN tariff, as explained by Brussels. Only for a limited number of products, where the MFN tariff is above five percent, does it exceed the limit of the agreement. A solution would therefore have to be found for these cases. Specific examples of the goods in question are to be announced shortly. The current customs system is currently only valid for 150 days. If nothing more happens, the deal with the USA will run as agreed.

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.