The European Union on Friday pushed back against renewed trade pressure from the United States, rejecting Washington’s demand to roll back landmark environmental regulations while defending its regulatory autonomy.
Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the EU, called on the bloc to “align” two key environmental and human rights supply chain laws with last year’s EU-US trade deal, posting on X alongside a US government document listing a series of “concerns” with the rules. “Now it’s time for the EU to deliver,” Puzder wrote.
The document warned that “the United States will take any actions necessary to address unreasonable burdens on US commerce absent a solution that addresses these concerns.” It targeted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which requires large companies to fix adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their supply chains, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which mandates climate impact disclosures.
EU Defends Regulatory Independence
European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta said the EU continued to “exchange on both tariff and non-tariff issues” with Washington, calling the process “constructive.” But she added: “We have been very clear and consistent on the fact that neither our rules framework nor our regulatory autonomy are up for negotiation.”
Puzder’s comments came a day after he criticised the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), calling it “a tariff in substance, no matter the ‘climate policy’ label.” The EU has already scaled back both the CSDDD and CSRD under business pressure, delaying implementation and exempting smaller firms, but the US document said that did not go far enough.
White House Flags EU Over Chinese Tariff Evasion
Separately, the EU was among dozens of trading partners named in a White House report as a risk for “illegal transshipment” from China, where goods are routed through third countries to avoid sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The report also targeted Mexico, Canada, and Japan, and vowed to use artificial intelligence to detect evasion in future.
Podesta said Brussels was “engaging” with Washington to understand the report’s “potential implications for the EU,” while noting the document found the EU’s transshipment risk was “embedded within broad legitimate trade flows.” The EU shared the US objective of tackling customs fraud, she added.
The tensions underscore growing friction between the transatlantic allies as Trump’s trade policies extend beyond China to challenge Europe’s regulatory model. The US push to weaken EU green rules comes even as Washington itself faces criticism for retreating from climate commitments at home.
Sources: Euronews; AFP; The Local; Firstpost
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