Following the European Parliament’s approval on 16 June of the legislation implementing the tariff elements of the EU-US Turnberry Agreement, Eucolait has sent a letter to Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen calling on the European Commission to ensure that the United States fully respects its commitments under the deal.
The letter notes that EU dairy exports to the United States are currently subject to an additional 10% duty on top of the MFN tariff rate under Section 122 of the US Trade Act. While these measures are due to expire on 24 July 2026, recent developments, notably the proposed 10% tariff under the Section 301 investigation on forced labour-related import controls, raise concerns that equivalent additional duties could continue to apply to EU products.
The Turnberry agreement provides that imports from the EU should be subject to an all-inclusive tariff ceiling of 15% or the historical MFN tariff rate where this is higher. For the dairy sector, it is crucial that this principle is applied for each tariff line, as opposed to an interpretation based on average tariff levels. Otherwise, European dairy products will continue facing tariff levels of MFN + 10%, undermining the competitiveness of EU exports.