Published 17:15 IST, October 3rd 2019
EU looks to retaliate over US tariffs as job losses feared
The European Union will retaliate against the U.S. decision to slap tariffs on a range of the bloc’s exports - from cheese to wine might lead to joblessness.
The European Union will retaliate against the U.S. decision to slap tariffs on a range of the bloc’s exports - from cheese to wine - that are expected to cause job losses, governments and industry groups said Thursday. The threat responds to the Trump administration’s decision to put new import taxes on EU imports worth $7.5 billion, opening a new chapter in the global trade wars that are heightening fears of a global recession. The latest U.S. tariffs target large aircraft but also many typical European products such as olives, whiskey, wine, cheese, and yogurt. The tariffs will take effect Oct. 18 and amount to a 10% tax on EU aircraft and 25% for everything else.
The US imposes the tariff on EU goods
The US got the legal go-ahead Wednesday from the World Trade Organization in a case involving illegal EU subsidies for the aircraft giant Airbus. But the EU is expecting a similar case involving U.S. subsidies for Boeing to go in its favor, with a ruling due in the coming months. It has said it hopes the two sides can hold off new tariffs, which economically amount to taxes on domestic importers, which can sometimes pass on the higher costs to consumers, making goods more expensive. “We’ve tried to lessen this commercial tension, but if they are not in the mood for conciliation, obviously Europe will fight back,” the French government’s spokeswoman, Sibeth Ndiaye, told news broadcaster BFM TV.
Spanish sector to suffer loss
The head of the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries, Mauricio García de Quevedo, said the sector will suffer against international competitors and job losses will ensue. The United States is the Spanish sector’s second-biggest food and beverage client after the EU, according to the federation. The sector exported 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) last year. Miguel Blanco, the secretary-general of Spain’s farming sector umbrella group COAG, representing more than 15,000 Spanish farmers and livestock breeders, said the tariffs are “completely unfair and overblown.” “Once again, the farming sector is going to pay for an EU trade war which has nothing to do with the Spanish countryside,” Blanco said, according to Europa Press.
Updated 22:11 IST, October 3rd 2019