Proving non-preferential US origin Regulation 2026-1455

Since 1 July 2026, a broad range of CN codes for goods of United States origin qualify for a reduced or zero rate of import duty under Regulation (EU) 2026/1455. Several forwarders are now asking their importer clients for a written confirmation of non-preferential US origin before they will claim the benefit. That request is not a formality. It reflects a gap in the regulation that importers need to understand before they sign anything.

What Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 actually does

Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 25 June 2026, published on 30 June 2026, and has applied since 1 July 2026. It runs until 31 December 2029. The regulation is the tariff-side implementation of the EU-US Joint Statement of 21 August 2025 – the Turnberry agreement – which we covered in our earlier piece on the EU-US trade agreement 2025-2026.

The regulation works through three annexes:

• Annex I – a 0% import duty on a broad list of CN codes for industrial goods of US origin: chemicals, plastics, machinery, electronics, textiles and most manufactured categories.
• Annex II – only the ad valorem component of the duty is suspended to 0% for certain agricultural products under the entry price system (tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, courgettes, oranges, mandarins, lemons, table grapes, apples, pears, cherries, plums, grape juice). The specific, weight-based component remains payable.
• Annex III – new tariff-rate quotas at a reduced or zero in-quota rate for agricultural and fisheries products, including pork, dairy, cheese, nuts, soybean oil and cocoa.

Steel and aluminium are excluded and remain subject to the existing tariff measures. The Commission also retains a safeguard power: it can suspend the reduced rate where a surge in imports causes or threatens serious injury to Union industry.

Why this is an origin question, not a preference question

It is worth being precise here. Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 is not a free trade agreement. Under a typical preferential arrangement there is a standardised proof document – a EUR.1 certificate, or a statement on origin from a registered exporter – backed by a fixed set of cumulation and origin rules.

That structure does not exist here. The reduced rates are conditional on non-preferential origin under Articles 59 to 63 of the Union Customs Code (UCC). For non-preferential origin, there is no uniform certificate. Customs authorities apply the free-evidence principle: any evidence capable of demonstrating origin may in principle be used – but the burden of proof rests entirely with the importer.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1422 introduces Article 59a into Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 (UCC-IA), formalising this approach specifically for goods covered by Regulation (EU) 2026/1455. The Commission also published Q&A guidance on 30 June 2026 covering proof of direct transport between the US and the EU, which is a separate condition for claiming the benefit.

What Customs actually expects to see

A Certificate of Origin, typically issued by a US chamber of commerce, is a declaratory document. It states an origin claim, but does not by itself demonstrate that the applicable non-preferential rule of origin has been met. On its own, without underlying substantiation, it carries limited evidential weight in a control.

Depending on which origin rule applies to your product, you should be able to produce:

• The manufacturer’s name, address and other company details;
• The country and location where production took place;
• For wholly obtained goods: documentation showing that the product and its materials were wholly obtained in the US;
• For a change-in-tariff-classification rule: information on the production process, including the HS codes of materials and components used;
• For a specific processing rule: production records showing the required processing operation was actually carried out;
• For a value-added criterion: a Bill of Materials showing the materials used, their value and origin, together with a breakdown of production and labour costs;
• Customs or export documents issued in the country of origin, and – where the country of export differs – documents from the country of export;
• Commercial purchase and sale documentation;
• Any other evidence capable of substantiating non-preferential origin under Article 60 UCC.

In practice: the written confirmation your forwarder is asking for

Because there is no standard certificate, forwarders and customs brokers are increasingly asking importers for a written confirmation on company letterhead: a statement that specific, often recurring, products are of non-preferential US origin, together with authorisation for the forwarder to use that confirmation to claim the reduced or zero rate in the declaration. Some forwarders reference this authorisation through an internal document code in their declaration software – which code applies depends on the service provider, so check with your own forwarder.

That confirmation does not transfer legal responsibility. The importer remains liable for the accuracy of the information provided (Article 15 UCC) and risks a post-clearance demand and penalties (Article 42 UCC) if the origin claim turns out to be incorrect on inspection. A letter to your forwarder should always be based on your own, substantiated origin determination – not an assumption.

What importers should do now

• Map which CN codes and US product flows fall under Annex I, II or III.
• Determine origin per product against the applicable rule – wholly obtained, tariff shift, specific processing or value added – before claiming the reduced rate, not after.
• Build a supporting file per product and manufacturer: BOM, production records, purchase documentation and US export or customs documents.
• Do not rely solely on a Certificate of Origin from a US chamber of commerce.
• Put confirmations to your forwarder in writing, on letterhead, while recognising this does not remove your own liability.
• For structural, recurring flows, consider applying for a Binding Origin Information (BOI) decision under Article 33 UCC for legal certainty.
• Watch the 31 December 2026 review of the US steel and aluminium tariff threshold – continued non-compliance with the agreed 15% cap could see the Commission suspend preferences.
• AEO holders: reflect the free-evidence requirement in your internal risk analysis (SAQ, block 1) for non-preferential origin. For related process discipline, see our guide to preparing for an AEO re-assessment without disrupting operations.

How this connects to the wider EU-US trade agreement

Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 does not stand alone. It is the tariff-side execution of the framework the EU and the US announced on 21 August 2025, which we set out in our earlier post on the EU-US trade agreement 2025-2026. The safeguard mechanisms, the 2029 sunset clause and the steel and aluminium clause described there apply equally to this regulation. If you are tracking both developments, we recommend reading the two posts together. The broader shift towards data-driven, evidence-based customs control also echoes the direction of the EU customs reform – origin substantiation is becoming a permanent operational requirement, not a one-off exercise.

The full text of Regulation (EU) 2026/1455 is available on EUR-Lex.

Have questions about what this means for your import flows from the US? Contact Smart Trade Compliance.