In 2022, taking their preferential agreements into account, the United States and the EU applied a similarly low average tariff on imports from the rest of the world: 2.2%. However, a breakdown by industry group reveals specific protections in the agri-food and textile sectors. The EU provides greater protection for its agriculture (11.3%) than the U.S. (5.3%), while average U.S. tariffs are higher in textiles (10.1% compared to 5.7% in the EU). In other sectors, the tariff and trade structures of both economies show low and very similar protection levels, with duties ranging between 3.1% and 0.3%. For example, the transport equipment is protected by an average tariff of 3.1% at EU borders and 3% in the U.S. The new and more protectionist U.S. trade policy is likely to change this landscape.

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Notes: The industry groups are sorted according to European tariff levels. The average tariff includes all preferential tariffs for each product-partner in each industry group. Calculated as a weighted average based on reference groups from the CEPII’s MAcMap-HS6 database, it is expressed as a percentage (see Guimbard et al, 2012). Temporary tariffs, such as anti-dumping or countervailing duties, are not considered in this calculation.