Brussels, 20 May 2026 – spiritsEUROPE welcomes the agreement in principle reached today between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on the two legislative proposals implementing the EU’s commitments under the EU-US Turnberry agreement.
This agreement represents an important step towards providing greater predictability and stability for businesses engaged in transatlantic trade at a particularly sensitive moment for EU-US economic relations. spiritsEUROPE now encourages all institutions to move swiftly towards formal adoption and full implementation of the agreement as a matter of priority.
“Today’s agreement in principle is a positive and timely signal in support of stability in transatlantic trade,” said Mark Titterington. “While the Turnberry framework is not perfect, and is a starting point on which both sides should build, its swift implementation is essential to avoid further escalation and provide businesses with as much predictability as possible in the current environment.”
spiritsEUROPE also underlines that restoring a full and durable reciprocal zero-for-zero framework for spirits should remain a shared priority for both the EU and the United States.
“The zero-for-zero arrangement delivered enormous benefits for both sides of the Atlantic over several decades, supporting investment, jobs and trade growth,” Titterington added. “Returning to this proven model should remain the long-term objective for our sector.”
spiritsEUROPE remains committed to working closely with EU institutions, US counterparts and industry partners to support a stable and predictable transatlantic trading environment.
ENDS
Note to editors
The reciprocal zero-for-zero agreement in spirits led to a growth of 450% in transatlantic trade in spirits between 1997 and 2018. More information on the benefits of this framework can be found here.
On 27 July 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald J. Trump announced a bilateral agreement on tariffs and trade. As part of its implementation, President Trump signed an Executive Order on 31 July 2025 (accessible here), establishing a 15% tariff ceiling on imports of EU products into the US.
On 21 August 2025, both sides issued a Joint Statement to provide further details on what was agreed through negotiations (the Joint Statement can be accessed here). It contains a list of product-specific exemptions from tariffs. Unfortunately, spirits are not part of this list, meaning that EU spirits remain subject to a 15% import tariff in the US. However, the Joint Statement specified that: “The United States and the European Union agree to consider other sectors and products that are important for their economies and value chains for inclusion in the list of products for which only the MFN tariffs would apply”. It is essential that talks restart with a view to expanding the list of products benefitting from a tariff exemption.
On 26 March 2026, MEPs adopted their position on two proposals implementing the tariff aspects of the EU-US Turnberry trade deal. The European Parliament press release following the vote can be found here.
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