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Tariffs Announced on European Cheeses, Wines and More

Italian, Spanish and British cheeses will be subject to 25 percent tariffs that will go into effect on October 18, the U.S Trade Representative has announced. Irish and Scotch whiskies, Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, Italian and British liqueurs and French wines are also among the wide array of European food and beverage tariffs announced October 2 by the USTR. The tariffs result from a dispute between the U.S. and E.U. over subsidies to Airbus that the World Trade Organization had previously ruled were illegal and are the subject of the largest arbitration award in WTO history, according to the USTR.

“We’re going to see price shock on the shelves,” said Salvatore Russo-Tiesi, General Manager and President of the U.S. office of Bono, the brand belonging to Bonolio s.a.s., which makes extra-virgin olive oil in Italy, Tunisia and a new factory in Spain. Italy is not among the list of European countries facing a tariff on extra-virgin olive oil. The company launched its Spanish Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the U.S. market last month at Natural Products Expo East. “The very best olive oil out of Spain is just as good as Italian olive oil. When made right, the best olive oil can come from many different countries, not just Italy,” Russo-Tiesi said.

Under WTO rules, the EU is not allowed to institute retaliatory tariffs, but Russo-Tiesi expects that may happen anyway. “I think Europe is going that way because they’re trying to play hard ball, saying that we don’t think America will want to fight a second trade war,” he said.

The WTO decision allowing the U.S. to move ahead on the tariffs follows four previous panel and appellate reports from 2011-2018 finding that EU subsidies to Airbus break WTO rules. “For years, Europe has been providing massive subsidies to Airbus that have seriously injured the U.S. aerospace industry and our workers. Finally, after 15 years of litigation, the WTO has confirmed that the United States is entitled to impose countermeasures in response to the EU’s illegal subsidies.,” USTR Robert Lighthizer said. “Accordingly, the United States will begin applying WTO-approved tariffs on certain EU goods beginning October 18. We expect to enter into negotiations with the European Union aimed at resolving this issue in a way that will benefit American workers.”
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The award of $7.5 billion annually is by far the largest award in WTO history – nearly twice the largest previous award. The Arbitrator calculated this amount based on WTO findings that EU launch aid for Airbus is causing significant lost sales of Boeing large civil aircraft, as well as impeding exports of Boeing large aircraft to the EU, Australia, China, Korea, Singapore and UAE markets. Under WTO rules, the Arbitrators decision is final and not subject to appeal.

The United States has requested that the WTO schedule a meeting on October 14 to approve a U.S. request for authorization to take countermeasures against the EU. Pursuant to WTO rules, the WTO will provide this authorization automatically at that meeting.

The tariffs will be applied to a range of imports from EU member states, with the bulk of the tariffs being applied to imports from France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom – the four countries responsible for the illegal subsidies. Although USTR has the authority to apply a 100 percent tariff on affected products, at this time, the tariff increases will be limited to 10 percent on large civil aircraft and 25 percent on agricultural and other products. The U.S. has the authority to increase the tariffs at any time or to change the products that are affected, and the USTR will be re-evaluating these decisions continually based on discussions with the EU.