The European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) has voiced "deep concerns" about the recently concluded EU-US trade agreement.

EFFAT said that the US and European Commission's joint declaration statement validates concerns it expressed previously that "European agro-food wealth is at stake alongside its millions of workers".

EFFAT said that EU agricultural products will be subject to either the US Most Favoured Nation tariff rate or a 15% tariff.

The latter is expected to apply to most agricultural goods, with no exceptions included, despite earlier proposals reportedly discussed following the Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen meeting in Scotland last month, EFFAT said.

Simultaneously, the EU will provide preferential access to American agricultural and seafood imports while completely removing duties on all US manufactured goods.

For the European agriculture sector and its workers, this arrangement "poses a serious challenge, putting significant trade volumes and thousands of jobs in the EFFAT sectors at potential risk".

EFFAT is sounding the alarm over recent references to the EU and the US commitment to “work together to address non-tariff barriers affecting trade in food and agricultural products, including streamlining requirements for sanitary certificates for pork and dairy products.”

"These declarations risk undermining the European model for food standards, a comprehensive regulatory framework developed over decades to ensure high levels of food quality, hygiene, safety, and consumer protection," EFFAT warned.

Enrico Somaglia, EFFAT general secretary, said that the deal is "fundamentally unbalanced".

"It overwhelmingly benefits one side, granting zero tariffs and billions of euros in investments and fossil fuel acquisitions," Somaglia said.

"This is not reciprocity - it is a sweeping concession that places the entire agro-food sector in a state of deep uncertainty.

"Any accommodation for increased American imports into the EU must not come at the expense of food safety, labour standards, or environmental sustainability."

EFFAT is urging the European Commission to resume discussions with the US "to achieve mutual tariff reductions on key agricultural exports".

It is also seeking the commission to immediately release a detailed impact assessment on this agreement’s effects on the EU agro-food sector, especially on employment.

EFFAT said the commission must ensure that "no concessions are made at the expense of the EU social, environmental, health and consumer protection standards".

"This political agreement reinforces a concerning pattern: agricultural sectors and their workers are being consistently side-lined in EU trade policy," EFFAT said.

"EFFAT calls upon commission president von der Leyen to initiate immediate consultations with trade unions to clarify how this outcome aligns with EU’s sovereignty and sustainability objectives, and to outline specific measures for safeguarding agri-food sector jobs."