EU to implement countermeasures against USA – Tariffs on import of jeans, whiskey, motorbikes, makeup...

EU member states unanimously approved sanctions against the USA, voting for the implementation of tariffs on the import of certain American products, such as jeans, whiskey and motorbikes, as a response to the fees on the import of European steel and aluminum implemented by Washington.

The EU countermeasures may come into effect on June 20, but the EU might wait until July 1, so as to coordinate its response with that of Canada, also sanctioned by the USA and aiming to launch its countermeasures on the first day of the next month.

The list of symbolic types of goods selected by the Commission features, in some cases, products from those American states, primarily agricultural ones, where the majority of votes went to Donald Trump in 2016. It also features goods made in the USA, but not sold as American trademarks, which can be produced anywhere in the world.

The products were selected in line with a very precise customs nomenclature, which doesn’t name any brand or company.

Also, other products might also be taxed in the EU in the future, in the amount of EUR 3.6 billion, depending on the outcome of the dispute against the United States at the WTO, under the complaint of June 1.

The list includes green beans, corn and rice (processed or not), currants, orange juice, peanut butter, bourbon, cigars, cigarettes and various types of tobacco. There are also cotton, wool or synthetic shirts, jeans or cotton trousers, shorts, cotton sheets and certain types of leather footwear.

The EU has also targeted motorbikes with engines over 500 cm2, sailboats, sports boats with or without an engine, rowing boats and canoes. The list further includes eye makeup, nail polish, makeup foundation and playing cards.

There are also products such as rolled steel, stainless steel bars, seamless pipes, steel wire, doors and windows.

China warns USA of termination of trade agreements in case of fees

The Chinese government repeated on Thursday, June 14, that it would terminate all the agreements with Washington aimed at calming down the trade dispute ahead of the White House’s preparations for the announcement of the list of Chinese products the fees on which are to be raised.

US President Donald Trump threatened to raise fees on Chinese goods in the amount of USD 150 billion as a response to the complaints over the Chinese trade surplus with the USA and the policy concerning technology. Accordingly, the White House is to publish a list of Chinese goods worth USD 50 billion that will be subject to fee increases of 25%.

– We have clearly said that, if the USA implements trade sanctions, including the imposition of fees, nothing achieved between the two sides regarding the trade and the economy will be realized – said Geng Shuang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

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