The European Commission has proposed the imposition of 100% retaliatory tariffs on certain US products if the current dispute over steel import taxes is not swiftly resolved, according to spokesman Eric Mamer.
Speaking on Saturday, Mr Mamer revealed that American grapefruits and rice imported into the European Union could be among the casualties if the Bush administration refuses to withdraw the 30% tariffs on imported steel, designed to protect the ailing US industry sector.
The proposal was made to trade experts from the 15 nation bloc on Friday. A second list, targeting products including dried fruits, paper, and apricots, has also been tabled for introduction in 2005. However, these goods are likely to face a reduced tariff of between 8% and 30%.
According to reports, the European Commission may experience problems in acheiving its stated aim of implementing the retaliatory taxes by June, as several EU member states, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, are understood to be unhappy with the idea.
Internal agreement on this issue will need to be secured before mid-May, however, as this is the deadline for Brussels to submit the list of targeted products to the World Trade Organisation.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment