In March 2018, the US introduced, for an unlimited period of time, additional tariffs on the import of certain aluminium (10%) and steel (25%) products in order to protect domestic goods. The exception to goods coming from the EU, Canada and Mexico valid through 31 May 2018 was not successfully extended during negotiations with the US. In response to the fact that, from 1 June 2018 onwards, imports from the EU to the US are also subject to additional tariffs, the EU has started introducing retaliatory business measures.
As the US trade policy is incompliant with WTO principles, the EU commenced dispute proceedings as part of the WTO on 1 June 2018. In their course, the EU will introduce additional tariffs on selected US goods.
At the first stage, ie from 20 June 2018 onwards, the import of the goods defined in Appendix I to Commission Regulation 2018/724 will be subject to an additional duty of up to 25%. These include, for example, foodstuffs such as corn, beans, peanut butter, orange juice, bourbon and whisky, tobacco products, cosmetic products, t-shirts, jeans, bed linen, footwear, motorcycles, boats, yachts and, most importantly, an extensive list of selected iron, steel and aluminium products.
At the second stage (after the WTO decides about the violation of rules by the US), the EU intends to introduce additional duties in the range of 10-50% on a further series of products listed in Appendix II to the above regulation.
We recommend that you carefully review whether the upcoming measures will affect your portfolio of imported goods. If you need additional information on this topic, we would be happy assist you.
The article is part of dReport – July 2018, Tax news; Grants and investment Incentives.
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