WASHINGTON, August 21, 2025— Today, the White House published a joint statement announcing a United States-European Union Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade. The statement includes commitments that Europe will liberalize U.S. dairy trade in a manner that marks the first measurable progress in transatlantic dairy trade in 10 years.
For European imports into the United States, the statement makes permanent the previously announced tariff structure (the higher of 15% or most-favored nation rate) and announces concessions for specified goods once the EU takes promised actions on U.S. exports.
For U.S. exports to the EU, the statement promises that the EU will work to provide U.S. dairy products with preferential tariffs, streamline its sanitary certificates for U.S. dairy imports and address U.S. concerns with various EU sustainability measures that were acting as non-tariff barriers to trade. Notably, the joint statement does not clarify which dairy products may be in scope, when such tariffs may be reduced, nor does it note any agreement on the EU’s geographical indications policies.
“The EU is notoriously difficult to negotiate with on trade,” said Becky Rasdall Vargas, senior vice president of trade and workforce policy at IDFA. “Today’s announcement represents the first time the EU has agreed to consider preferential tariffs for U.S. dairy exports in a decade. This is truly a testament to the commitment of U.S. negotiators. Moving forward, it will be important to keep discussions active given the significant amount of dairy processing equipment, inputs and other important goods that come from Europe and support the $9 billion of investment in dairy processing in the United States.”
The European Union remains a significant trading partner for U.S. dairy. In 2024, the United States exported $167 million in dairy products to Europe and the EU exported $2.8 billion to the United States.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports more than 3 million jobs that generate $198 billion in wages and $779 billion in overall economic impact. IDFA’s diverse membership ranges from multinational organizations to single-plant companies, from dairy companies and cooperatives to food retailers and suppliers, all on the cutting edge of innovation and sustainable business practices. Together, they represent most of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Delicious, safe and nutritious, dairy foods offer unparalleled health and consumer benefits to people of all ages.
Contact: press@idfa.org