“This is more than frustrating; it is reckless at this late day in the sunset of Ambassador Lighthizer’s tenure” as U.S. Trade Representative, said Robert M. Tobaissen, president, National Association of Beverage Importers.
“Having failed to negotiate settlement of this 16-year dispute, he throws gasoline on the fire as he prepared to “get out of Dodge” only to increase the trade policy challenges by the Biden/Harris Administration. He should be consulting with the Transition Team and not building new barriers with our allies in the EU,” Tobiassen said, adding:
“The rationale of the timing selected by the EU Commission for the timing of the trade volume determination is a technical argument at best and one that does not merit the potential risk of the EU simply retaliating. It is wishful thinking regardless of the statement in the USTR Press Release that the U.S. showed restraint in the adjustments it made by adding more products to the Airbus tariffs list so as not “in order to not escalate the situation.” In this season of “perpetual joy” to quote Charlie Brown, this gift is more like a lump of coal from Charles Dicken’s immortal protagonist saying “Bah Humbug.”