The WTO has decided to authorise the European Union to apply tariffs of 4 billion dollars to US products and services in relation to state aids to Boeing. On 24 July last year, the US had been authorised by the World Trade Organization to apply import duties (up to 7.5 billion dollars) to the European Union in relation to state aids to Airbus. This resulted in US additional import duties applied on a long list of Italian and European food products.
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“Now there is the possibility to overcome the additional US duties that affect 25% of Italian food exports, for a value of about half a billion euros, on products such as Grana Padano PDO, Gorgonzola PDO, Asiago PDO, Fontina PDO, Provolone PDO, but also salami, mortadella, crustaceans, citrus fruits, juices and liqueurs such as bitters and limoncello” – says the president of Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini.
HOW WTO’S DECISION COULD HELP ITALIAN FOOD
“It is now necessary to start a dialogue and to avoid the escalation of a clash that could lead to new and worrying scenarios. They could have a dangerous avalanche effect on the economy and on relations between allied countries in such a dramatic moment as the one we are experiencing” – Prandini says. And the recent decision of the WTO could lead the US administration to return to its own steps on tariffs.
The United States is the leading non-European market for Italian agri-food products for a value that in 2019 was 4.7 billion, with a further increase of +4.8% in the first six months of 2020.