A buyer's guide to importing and exporting technical goods between the EU, US and Canada
The transatlantic tariff landscape changed fundamentally several times between 2025 and 2026. This guide puts the legal changes in order, explains what has applied since July 1, 2026, and shows how buyers can properly use CETA and the new EU–US framework.
Anyone who sourced transatlantically in 2025 knows the feeling: no sooner was a tariff rule understood than it was already outdated. The Turnberry deal, court rulings, new EU regulations, the legal situation changed fundamentally several times within twelve months. This guide brings order to it.
In August 2025, the EU and US agreed on a new tariff framework in the Turnberry deal. In February 2026, the Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA struck down the previously imposed reciprocal tariffs. On July 1, 2026, the EU implementing regulations finally came into force (valid until the end of 2029): the EU abolishes tariffs on US industrial goods, and the US caps tariffs on most EU exports at a maximum of 15%.
For industrial goods between the EU and US, a significantly more predictable framework has applied since July 2026, but only for correctly declared goods. Tariff classification, proof of origin, and export control have gone from administrative detail to ongoing risk: misclassify or fail to properly document origin, and you lose the benefit of the new framework.
Under CETA, industrial goods with preferential EU origin are largely duty-free when imported into Canada, if correctly declared. In practice, this often fails on details: a missing statement of origin, an incomplete direct transport document, or a tariff position that doesn't support the preference claim at all. This is exactly where the measurable difference between duty-free and expensive lies.
What should properly accompany every transatlantic shipment: the correct tariff classification, reliable proof of preferential origin, a direct transport document where required, the export declaration, and, depending on the goods, the export control check (dual-use). If any of these elements is missing, you risk retroactive duties, delays, or fines.
The math is simple: a single incorrectly declared transaction can cost more than a year of external handling. Anyone who sources transatlantically only occasionally can hardly keep the necessary customs knowledge up to date internally, a service provider responsible for sourcing, customs, and shipping in a single transaction turns regulatory risk into a predictable line item.
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