Since October 18th, the USA has imposed new additional ad valorem import duties of between 10% and 25% on 1,500 European products.
Products affected by the new US tariffs
The countries most affected by the new levies are Spain, Germany, France and the UK. Tariffs have already been increased by 10% for large civil aircraft and by 25% for certain agricultural products
The Spanish wine and oil sectors are the most adversely affected as Spain exports more than €700 million worth of wine and oil to the US. However, other products such as pork, cheese, some fruit and some dairy products are also affected.
These are the main Spanish products affected, along with their tariff headings:
- Additional import duties of 10%:
- 88 02 40 Aeroplanes and other aircraft.
- Additional import duties of 25%:
- 15 09 10 Packaged virgin olive oil.
- 22 04 21 Bottled wine made from fresh grapes.
- 20 05 70 Preserved olives.
- 15 09 90 Packaged non-virgin olive oil.
- 04 06 90 Other cheeses.
- 02 23 29 Frozen pork.
- 04 06 10 Fresh cheese and cottage cheese.
- 08 05 22 Clementines.
- 22 08 70 Liqueurs.
- 08 05 50 Lemons.
- 16 01 00 Cold meats.
- 20 08 70 Preserved peaches.
- 20 09 89 Fruit juices.
- 20 07 99 Jams.
- 20 08 97 Preserved mixed fruits.
- 08 05 21 Mandarins.
- 16 02 Prepared meats.
- 16 02 49 Prepared and preserved meats.
- 16 05 53 Mussels.
- 20 08 40 Pears.
- 08 11 90 Prepared fruits.
- 04 06 40 Blue-veined cheese and others.
- 16 05 59 Other shellfish.
- 16 05 56 Clams and cockles.
- 08 13 40 Other fresh fruits.
- 07 11 20 Olives.
- 04 06 30 Processed cheese.
- 04 05 10 Butter.
- 20 08 60 Preserved cherries.
- 04 03 10 Yogurt.
Why the USA is imposing these tariffs on the EU
The new tariffs on imports of these products come after authorisation from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to impose sanctions on EU countries amounting to 7.5 billion dollars (€6.9 billion).
The sanctions are intended to offset US aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s potential sales losses resulting from illegal subsidies given to their main competitor, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
The subsidies, in the form of loans at less than the market interest rate, from EU governments, specifically Spain, France, Germany and the UK, have enabled Airbus to develop some of its more recent and most advanced models.
