European Commission published official notice it will increase tariffs on imports from the U.S. on $4 billion of goods including U.S. vermouth, raw distillates, rum, and vodka.
National Association of Beverage Importers President Robert Tobiassen said he “believes that there are de facto negotiations going on in the back and forth between Washington and Brussels that should move to the formal stage for the benefit of all.”
NABI, he added, is “deeply disappointed that both the U.S. Trade Representative and EU Trade Commissioner have not reached a place for commencing serious settlement negotiations in the Airbus and Boeing WTO trade disputes. Adversely impacted industry members on both sides of the Atlantic are very frustrated with the lack of progress, particularly in light of the current economic downturn in the U.S. and Europe.”
NABI has urged both parties to suspend or withhold imposing retaliatory tariffs for 180 days to facilitate good faith moving forward in negotiations, Tobiassen said, adding there is clear precedent for this in the USTR decision to delay the effective date of the retaliatory tariffs in the French Digital Service Tax investigation. In both the EU Commission press release and the official notice published in the Journal of the EU, the EU Trade Commissioner continues to favor negotiations rather than the current ‘tariff war.’
The 25% tariffs being imposed by the EU as of yesterday apply to vermouth, raw distillates, rum, and vodka. An official notice from the EU states the tariffs will be suspended “if the United States suspends its countermeasures against imports from the European Union.” The notice also states the tariffs will be changed if the U.S. changes tariffs it is imposing.
The EU said its new 25% tariffs “bring the EU equal footing with the U.S., with sizeable tariffs on each side based on two WTO decisions related to aircraft subsidies. They include additional tariffs of 15% on aircraft as well as additional tariffs of 25% on a range of agricultural and industrial products imported from the U.S., thereby strictly mirroring the countermeasures imposed by the United States in the context of the WTO case on subsidies to Airbus.”