Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU is considering extending the duty-free lobster deal with the U.S. as part of broader tariff negotiations, aiming to ease Trump-era tariffs.
(Reuters) -The European Union is open to extending a deal giving U.S. lobsters duty-free access as part of a broader package aimed at removing tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing two officials.
The EU's current regulation eliminating customs duties for fresh and frozen lobsters from the U.S. expires on July 31. The lobster deal between the U.S. and EU was struck in 2020 during Trump's first term.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European parliament’s trade committee, told the FT that the lobster trade was not very economically important, but led to de-escalation from Trump. "[The deal] is expiring at the end of July. I’m really in favour of extending it."
The EU faces 25% U.S. import tariffs on its steel, aluminium and cars. It also faces tariffs of 10% for almost all other goods, a levy that could rise to 20% after Trump's 90-day pause expires on July 8.
The European Commission has proposed countermeasures on up to 95 billion euros ($107.60 billion) of U.S. imports if tariff negotiations with Washington fail.
The Commission has repeatedly said it would prefer a negotiated solution rather than tit-for-tat tariffs.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The European Commission declined to comment to the FT and did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
($1 = 0.8829 euros)
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
The EU's regulation eliminating customs duties for U.S. lobsters expires on July 31. The deal was established in 2020 during Trump's administration.
The EU faces a 25% import tariff on steel, aluminum, and cars, along with a 10% tariff on almost all other goods, which could rise to 20% after a 90-day pause.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European parliament’s trade committee, noted that while the lobster trade is not economically significant, it has contributed to de-escalation from Trump.
The European Commission has proposed countermeasures on up to 95 billion euros of U.S. imports if tariff negotiations with Washington do not succeed.
The European Commission has expressed a preference for a negotiated solution rather than engaging in tit-for-tat tariffs.
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