On Monday 14 April, the European Commission published the IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2025/786, on commercial rebalancing measures concerning certain products originating in the United States of America and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/886
The 2018 Regulation was drafted in response to US duties on imports of products from the EU, introduced during the first term of the Trump administration. These duties represented safeguard measures in all respects, constituting a breach of the agreements signed at the WTO. Over the years, the measures indicated in Regulation 2018/886 had been suspended in order to positively support trade relations between the US and the EU.
However, on 2 April 2025, the United States introduced additional customs duties on imports of all products originating in the Union, at a level of 20%, effective from 9 April 2025, for an unlimited period. These US duties also fall within the safeguard measures and have therefore led to the drafting and publication of a new European Union Regulation, which replaces and integrates the previous one, inserting in the annexes all the information relating to the customs headings and products concerned.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/778 states that:
“Additional ad valorem duty of a rate of 10 % and 25 % shall be applied on imports of products listed in Annex I, and specified therein, from 15 April 2025”
“The Union shall apply the following additional customs duties on imports into the Union of products originating in the United States of America:
- an additional ad valorem duty of 25% on imports of the products listed in Annex II and III, and specified therein, from 16 May 2025;
- an additional ad valorem duty of 25% on imports of the products listed in Annex IV, and specified therein, from 1 December 2025”.
On the same day yesterday, 14 April 2025, the European Commission, published the COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2025/786, suspending commercial rebalancing measures concerning certain products originating in the United States imposed by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/778 and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2882.
This postponement is due to the 90-day suspension of customs tariffs, communicated on 9 April by the US Administration.
The full texts of the regulations and their annexes are available at these links:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32025R0778&qid=1744808550751
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202500786