At the European Food Forum’s Navigating US Tariffs event on 9 April, Edouard Coppieters, Senior Policy Adviser at AmCham EU, called for simpler, science-based EU agri-food rules to enhance competitiveness and reduce uncertainty. Speaking alongside MEP Brando Benifei (IT, S&D), he highlighted the continued growth of EU-US agri-trade and the need for the EU to diversify trade partners, welcoming recent deals with Australia and India. He stressed that the Framework Agreement between the EU and US provides a stable basis to tackle tariff-induced uncertainty, but the EU must also focus on regulatory predictability to remain attractive to new trading partners.
Coppieters’ remarks build on AmCham EU’s ongoing advocacy for regulatory simplification. In a position paper also released on 13 April, the chamber argued that the EU’s agri-food regulatory framework is fragmented and lacks predictability, and that the upcoming Food and Feed Safety Omnibus is a chance to reduce delays, improve consistency, and ease compliance burdens. The paper called for a more proportionate, science-based, and risk-based approach to trade measures to safeguard food security and avoid supply disruptions.
Earlier, on 24 March at the Alimentaria Conference in Barcelona, Coppieters had outlined the role of simplification and Better Regulation principles in ensuring a stable agri-food supply chain and supporting competitiveness. He noted that stakeholders across the value chain face challenges adapting to the current legislative framework and emphasised the need to simplify Single Market operations. The panel also featured Aurélie Dufour (Yum! Brands) and Dirk Jacobs (FoodDrinkEurope).
In December 2025, AmCham EU hosted a discussion on the Food and Feed Omnibus, exploring how a more coherent, innovation-friendly framework can reduce complexity and administrative burden. The discussion underlined the importance of aligning regulation with scientific progress while reinforcing Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Participants included Tyler Babcock (US Mission to the EU), Dr Eugene Kevin Foley-Friel (Ireland’s Permanent Representation), and Astrid Sofie Vestergaard Nielsen (Denmark’s Permanent Representation).
The chamber’s consistent message underscores a cleavage between regulatory simplification for business competitiveness and the current fragmented, compliance-heavy framework. Positive impacts include reduced administrative burden and faster market access for agri-food operators, while potential negative impacts could involve weaker oversight if science-based risk assessments are not rigorously applied. Key stakeholders affected include EU agri-food producers and distributors (who face compliance costs), EU consumers (who may benefit from innovation but face food safety risks), EU regulatory bodies (whose oversight role may be streamlined), and US agri-food companies operating in the EU (who seek predictable rules).