The European Commission and the White House have issued a joint statement to build on the political agreement on tariffs and trade the US and the EU announced at the
end of July.
In a new
joint statement on August 21, the US and the EU set out the basis of what they call a framework for fair, balanced and mutually beneficial transatlantic trade and investment.
It lays out in detail the new US tariff regime towards the EU, with a clear maximum, all-inclusive, tariff rate of 15% for the vast majority of EU exports, including strategic sectors such as cars.
With regard to cars and car parts, the 15% US tariff ceiling will apply in tandem with the EU initiating the procedures for tariff reductions for US products.
Another of the key terms of the framework agreement concerns the European Union Deforestation Regulation, which is due to come into effect on December 31, 2025, placing an extensive burden on businesses in a number of sectors, including leather.
As things stand, companies in the EU will have to submit detailed information about cattle hides and leather to show that their materials have no link to deforestation.
The work to prepare for this has been onerous. In recent comments, as reported in World Leather August-September 2025, the president of Italy’s national tanning industry body UNIC, Fabrizio Nuti, said EUDR could have a
devastating effect on the leather sector. He said that he had been working on EUDR since November 2021 and that, for four years, the regulation has absorbed “almost all my energy”.
Now, though, the new joint statement suggests that pressure from the White House could be on the point of bringing about a shift in the European Commission’s stance on EUDR.
The text says: “Recognising that production of the relevant commodities within the territory of the US poses negligible risk to global deforestation, the EU commits to work to address the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding EUDR, with a view to avoiding undue impact on US-EU trade.”
In additional comments, the European Commission said only that it had “agreed to exchange views with the US on the EUDR”.
It added that the US has been classified as a low-risk country and therefore a reliable partner from which EU importers can source their products deforestation-free.
“Having a platform for discussing the implementation of the EUDR with the US will be valuable in ensuring that EUDR does not result in unnecessary barriers to transatlantic trade,” the Commission continued.
It claimed this was in line with its commitment to implement EUDR “in a spirit of partnership, transparency, communication and open dialogue with all partner countries”.
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