EU: Public Consultation on Potential Countermeasures Affecting US Nuts and Dried Fruits
As a reminder, on May 8, the European Commission announced a public consultation on a list of US goods that could become subject to EU countermeasures if ongoing EU-US negotiations do not result in a mutually beneficial outcome and the removal of the US tariffs. The list of products includes a broad range of nuts and dried fruits, including roasted almonds and pistachios; shelled and in-shell Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts; roasted, prepared, and preserved peanuts; dates; dried apricots; dried figs; prunes; and dried grapes. The consultation will run until June 10, 2025.
USA: Federal Court Blocks Some of Trump’s Steepest Tariffs; Appeal Expected
On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that federal law did not allow Trump “unbounded authority” to place tariffs on imports from countries around the world, as reported by the New York Times. The ruling refers to tariffs imposed under Trump’s novel interpretation of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers act —specifically, the tariffs on goods from China, Mexico, and Canada, as well as the baseline 10% tariff on all imports from all origins— and does not affect tariffs imposed under different legal provisions. The ruling gave the Trump administration 10 days to remove the tariffs.
This ruling is not, however, the final word on this subject. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision in federal court. At the time of this report, it was not clear whether the administration would seek to justify the tariffs under a different legal authority.
EU: Parliament Approves Sanctions on Russian and Belarusian Agricultural Goods
On May 22, 2025, the European Parliament endorsed the Commission’s proposal to increase EU tariffs on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus that were not yet subject to extra customs duties. Goods listed in Annex I of the draft regulation shall be subject to an additional 50% ad valorem tariff customs duty that shall apply on top of the applicable Common Customs Tariff rate. The affected goods include fruits and nuts under CN Chapter 08 and preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants under CN Chapter 20. Before it can enter into force, the regulation must now be formally adopted by the Council and subsequently published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
India-UK: Agreement Reached on Free Trade Deal
On May 6, 2025, the UK announced that it had reached an agreement on a trade deal with India. The UK government described the agreement as “the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU.” According to a statement from the Indian government, 99% of India’s exports to the UK will benefit from zero duty under this deal. The agreement must now be officially ratified by both countries before it can enter into force.
UK-EU: New Agreement on Post-Brexit Relations
Following a summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and the EU announced that they had reached a new agreement establishing post-Brexit relations in a number of areas, including trade. Specifically, the deal will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone, which, among other measures, will mean the removal of plant health certificates, the removal of Certificates of Inspection for organic products, and stopping routine border checks on agri-food products. The date of implementation has not yet been set.
US-UK: Trade Deal Announced
On May 8, 2025, the US and the UK announced a bilateral trade agreement called the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD). The two countries agreed to immediately begin negotiations to develop and formalize the proposals made in the official announcement.
USA: National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers
The Office of the United States Trade Representative recently published the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, a 397-page report outlining significant tariff and non-tariff barriers in the largest export markets for the United States.
With chapters on nearly 60 countries, the report provides chronological summary of tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed on US goods. Information of interest to the nut and dried fruit industry includes the history of India’s tariffs on US walnuts and almonds, information about export policies affecting nuts in Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, and more.