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USTR welcomes EU progress on trade deal, says Brussels must also address non-tariff barriers

By Thomson Reuters May 20, 2026 | 12:23 PM

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. Trade Representative’s office on Wednesday welcomed ​the European Union’s ‌provisional agreement on legislation to remove import duties on U.S. goods, but said Brussels ‌also ​needed to ⁠address non-tariff barriers ⁠and regulatory matters identified in a trade deal struck between the two ​trading blocs last year.

USTR said it would ⁠also continue ⁠to review certain limiting ​amendments included in the ​EU legislation to “assess whether it ‌complies with the Joint Statement.”

The legislation agreed on Wednesday was aimed ⁠at fulfilling a key part of the trade deal reached with ⁠Washington ‌in July and ⁠averting higher U.S. ​tariffs ‌on some key ​EU products ⁠threatened by President Donald Trump earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Ismail Shakil, Editing by ​Franklin Paul)