On Wednesday, October 2, the US published a list of European goods they want to impose tariffs on, starting October 18, 2019. Besides airplanes and industrial goods, the list contains 119 agricultural products, ranging from French wine to Italian cheeses, that will be subject to a 25% ad valorem tariff. Raising the question: How are the targeted sectors and specific European countries impacted by the proposed tariffs?
The Bigger Picture
On Wednesday, October 2, the WTO ruled in favor of the US in a long running trade dispute over illegal government support to European aircraft builder Airbus. It allowed the US to impose tariffs on USD 7.5bn worth of products from the EU-28. The tariffs proposed are not a broad list focused on the whole European agricultural sector, rather it targets specific countries and product categories. For example, in 2018, almost 80% of US wine imports in value terms were imported from the EU-28. Not only do US consumers favor European wines, they also have a taste for whiskies, olive oil and dairy products from the region (see Figure 1).
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