In the midst of various trade tensions the EU and the US have plotted a way forward for their trade relations. Amongst a number of commitments they have taken, they are seeking to negotiate a trade agreement on industrial goods. This article aims to provide a preliminary evaluation, mainly from an EU perspective, of what such an agreement may entail, both from a negotiations perspective, as well as from the perspective of what the final agreement might look like. In this regard the article first analyses the various elements that need to be negotiated upon, mainly following the structure of the EU mandate EU mandate. It subsequently evaluates that even though the challenges are manifold, the agreement will bring benefits of both a trade and economic nature, as well as of a political nature. In this context it concludes that the efforts to achieve this agreement should be given the fullest support.