Lifting Tariffs Will Help Both Economies Recover From the COVID-19 Pandemic
In advance of the upcoming EU-U.S. summit in Brussels, EFFA joins other 112 organisations in reiterating the call for the permanent removal of tariffs on sectors unrelated to the ongoing transatlantic trade disputes. The transatlantic relationship is of enormous economic importance to our sectors, and we are eager to see it protected and nurtured. We welcome the positive steps to de-escalate the disputes over the past few months and hope that both sides can build on this positive momentum to secure the permanent removal of retaliatory tariffs on our products.
We are encouraged by the decision to temporarily suspend tariffs imposed in connection to the WTO Airbus-Boeing disputes and by the ongoing U.S. and EU efforts to settle the dispute before the suspension comes to an end. Our strong desire is to see an agreement before 11 July announcing that these tariffs will not be reimposed. It is essential for our sectors that these tariffs do not return. If there is a need to extend the tariff suspension to allow for additional time to negotiate a resolution to the underlying dispute, our sectors request advance notice of this extension to account for shipping times between the EU and the U.S.
We are also encouraged by the recent U.S.-EU joint statement on addressing global steel and aluminium excess capacity, and the EU’s decision to postpone the second tranche of rebalancing tariffs until 1 December. However, U.S. products across a range of sectors continue to face destructive EU tariffs that are harming competitiveness and negatively impacting producers, farmers and logistics providers and many others on both sides of the Atlantic.
We are hopeful that the recent positive momentum in both disputes will lead to the permanent removal of tariffs on unrelated sectors in the transatlantic disputes. We call on our leaders to intensify negotiations to ensure that this happens without delay. Removing tariffs on unrelated sectors is essential to create the necessary certainty and stability to grow the transatlantic economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the flavour industry, EFFA joined forces together with FEMA.
Read the statement here with the full list of signatories.