U.S. to Impose 25% Tariff on EU Goods-Retaliation Expected

The Trump administration will soon be hitting a wide range of European farm products with a new 25% tariff when the U.S. takes its WTO-approved retaliation against the European Union later this month.

The WTO handed down a ruling Wednesday that will allow the U.S. to hit European countries – mostly Germany, France, Spain and the U.K. – with $7.5 billion worth of tariffs, annually, to retaliate for damages done by European subsidies given to Airbus. The list of ag products that could be hit with tariffs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative, include cheese, whey, butter, yogurt, pork, peaches, pears, olives, cherries and wine.

The dairy-heavy list got a hearty thumbs up from the National Milk Producers Federation, which said in a statement: “The U.S. is running a $1.6 billion dairy trade deficit with Europe because of unfair EU trade practices that block our access to their market while they enjoy broad access to ours.”

The EU, meanwhile, is preparing to hit U.S. ag commodities with new tariffs as a result of its victory in a WTO suit over U.S. subsidies for Boeing.

Included on the EU retaliatory list are: soybean oil, orange juice, cherries, wine, grapes, sweet potatoes, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, grapefruit and vodka.

Source: AgriMarketing