From 1 May, an interim trade agreement with the South American countries associated in the Mercosur group will come into effect in the European Union. The European Parliament has approved its negotiating position on the implementation of tariff reductions based on the EU-US agreement, the so-called Tariff Relief Deal. Turnberry Tariff Deal. And the EU-Australia free trade agreement is now on the verge of final ratification. What are the impacts of these arrangements? We have summarized the key points in the article.
As of 1 May 2026, the European Union will temporarily apply the trade part of the agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). However, until the ratification process is completed, the agreement will be applied under the ‘temporary arrangement’.
The aim of the agreement is to gradually establish a free trade area. In practice, this means in particular:
As in the case of other preferential agreements, the application of zero or reduced customs duties is subject to proof of the preferential origin of the goods.
When exporting from the EU, the origin of goods will be documented:
Exporters from the MERCOSUR countries will follow national national legislation in relation to proof of origin, and ‘national’ certificates of origin may be used for the first three years, which may be extended. Specimens of certificates should be provided by the individual states of the Convention to the European Commission, which will publish them.
It is true that the origin declaration should not be issued before 1 May 2026. However, for goods that will already be on their way or under customs supervision in the country of import, it will be permissible for preferential origin to be documented retrospectively, within a set deadline.
The “Turnberry Tariff Deal” is a framework of conditional tariff relief between the European Union and the United States, which aims to partially remove the remaining trade barriers, especially in the area of industrial goods and selected agricultural and fishery products.
The European Parliament has already approved its negotiating position on two regulations that are intended to implement the customs part of this framework into EU law. If an agreement is reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, the measure will allow:
To protect the EU’s interests, reciprocity mechanisms have been incorporated into the proposal, meaning that the EU will not grant tariff relief automatically or unilaterally. The European Commission is to be entitled to suspend or withdraw preferences if the US introduces new tariffs above the 15% ceiling or applies economic pressure or discriminatory measures against the EU. In addition, the application of preferences is conditional on the so-called “sunrise” clause. This clause ensures that the EU will only start applying tariff relief once there has been a demonstrable fulfilment of US commitments, in particular the reduction of US tariffs on imports from the EU on products containing steel and aluminium.
The main regulation is designed to be limited in time and its validity in the current proposal is set for 31 March 2028.
The agreement is currently undergoing legal review prior to final ratification and is expected to eliminate more than 99% of duties on EU exports to Australia. According to estimates, it will generate annual customs duty savings of up to EUR 1 billion for EU exporters, with the greatest benefits anticipated particularly for the industrial and agricultural sectors. The agreement will also improve access to critical raw materials and includes comprehensive commitments in the areas of climate protection, labour rights and sustainability. It will enter into force upon completion of all legal and ratification procedures.
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