Washington, DC and Brussels – Following the European Commission’s publication of the list of US products subject to retaliatory tariffs as a result of the WTO decision on Boeing Aircraft subsidies, the European and US wine associations renew their call for EU and US authorities to de-escalate the dispute and to immediately suspend the additional tariffs imposed on EU wines since October 2019 while they work towards a solution. The EU list released today does not include US wine.
“The glass is half empty” said Jean-Marie Barillère, President of CEEV. “While the EU has, fortunately, decided to spare US wines from punitive tariffs, EU wines have been hit by additional tariffs for months, causing irreparable damage to wine companies and the whole supply chain. We continue our call for the EU and US authorities to preserve and strengthen the bilateral wine partnership by eliminating all retaliatory tariffs imposed on EU wines, and refraining from targeting wine in unrelated trade disputes.”
Both the US and the EU are each other’s largest export markets, with total trade reaching $5.36 (€4.53) billion in 2019, creating jobs and investment on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Wine is a truly unique agricultural product and for many years we have steadfastly urged all governments to refrain from targeting wine in disputes involving other sectors. We recognize the important step taken here towards this goal and urge both governments to support the strength of the transatlantic wine trade by adhering to the ‘wine for wine’ principle,” said Bobby Koch, President and CEO of Wine Institute.
Full press release here.
Source: CEEV