The latest report from the Committee of the Regions shows that EU food exports to the United States have fallen by 23.5 percent, representing a loss of approximately €7 billion.
The authors of the report, as quoted by Rzeczpospolita in the Do Rzeczy news portal, have no doubt that the situation is exceptionally difficult.
“The EU agri-food sector is going through one of the most difficult periods in its recent history,” they emphasize. The problem is even more serious because the U.S. is the second most important market for European food, accounting for approximately 5.6 percent of exports.
The total economic relationship between the EU and the U.S. is worth approximately €1.6 trillion annually and supports millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
The decline in exports is a direct result of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which have driven up the prices of European products. As a result, American importers have begun to seek cheaper alternatives from other countries.
“Producers are facing not an abstract decline in export percentages, but the real prospect of inventory accumulation, collapsed margins, and forced market exit,” the report states.
Premium products – wines, spirits, olive oil, cheeses, and sweets – suffered the most. The scale of the collapse in meat is even greater, with pork exports to the U.S. falling by a staggering 98.7 percent. In practice, this means the almost complete disappearance of this segment from the market.
Losses are concentrated in a few countries – France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands – which account for over 75 percent of food exports to the US. Small and medium-sized businesses and cooperatives, which lack the financial resources to survive a prolonged decline in sales, are most vulnerable.
The legal situation in the U.S. is deepening the uncertainty. Although in February 2026, the Supreme Court questioned the ability to impose tariffs without Congressional approval, little has changed in practice. According to experts from Rzeczpospolita, the rates remain in effect. “The Supreme Court’s ruling itself doesn’t automatically abolish the rates charged on imports,” emphasizes Marcin Majewski of PwC. “Companies still have to apply them, and the risk of further changes remains very high,” he adds. He emphasizes that it is increasingly impossible to predict what tariffs will apply at the time of delivery.
The scale of the dispute is growing. Economists estimate that the value of potential tariff refunds could reach as much as $170 billion. While most of the costs are borne by U.S. companies, the impact is also felt by businesses in the European Union.
Europe is looking for a way out, including via new trade agreements such as with Mercosur countries, India, and Australia. “New trade agreements could revitalize the European economy,” says Lisandra Flach of the Ifo Institute. According to her analysis, they could increase industrial production in the EU by 1.1 percent and GDP by 0.43 percent.
