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New EU-US deal on beef? Not new news, and the deal still has to be signed.
@Channel4News said Trump has just announced it. Media reports that signing was imminent were published several hours ago. The EU announced the deal on July 15.
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consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press…
@Channel4News said Trump has just announced it. Media reports that signing was imminent were published several hours ago. The EU announced the deal on July 15.
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consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press…
What is the deal?
It arises from a WTO dispute, DS26, which the EU lost over its ban on beef from cattle with added hormones.
The eventual ruling was the EU didn't have scientific evidence to support its ban on the beef.
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wto.org/english/tratop…
It arises from a WTO dispute, DS26, which the EU lost over its ban on beef from cattle with added hormones.
The eventual ruling was the EU didn't have scientific evidence to support its ban on the beef.
2/7
wto.org/english/tratop…
Politically, the EU was unable to lift the ban.
The US retaliated by charging tariffs on selected EU products (mainly luxury products, including some from Britain), that were so high imports were impossible.
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The US retaliated by charging tariffs on selected EU products (mainly luxury products, including some from Britain), that were so high imports were impossible.
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Eventually the EU and US settled on "compensation" — the EU opened a new tariff quota of 45,000 tonnes for high quality beef.
Imports inside the quota are duty-free instead of the normal duty of €2,700–€4,700 per tonne. The prohibitive US tariffs were dropped.
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Imports inside the quota are duty-free instead of the normal duty of €2,700–€4,700 per tonne. The prohibitive US tariffs were dropped.
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Other countries such as Australia argued that the new tariff quota should be available to other suppliers as well under the principle of non-discrimination.
So US suppliers found they had to compete with others for the 45,000-tonne tariff quota, and they struggled.
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So US suppliers found they had to compete with others for the 45,000-tonne tariff quota, and they struggled.
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The US government consulted its producers, and then negotiated with the EU, resulting in this latest deal.
According to the EU, the tariff quota is still 45,000 tonnes, but 35,000 is reserved for the US, leaving 10,000 tonnes for other countries.
consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press…
6/7
According to the EU, the tariff quota is still 45,000 tonnes, but 35,000 is reserved for the US, leaving 10,000 tonnes for other countries.
consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press…
6/7
The EU says "other substantial supplying countries" agreed to the deal, which will limit their share of the quota to 10,000 tonnes.
Here's @jendeben's report for Bloomberg:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Here's @jendeben's report for Bloomberg:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
7/7 ends
@jendeben Unsurprisingly, Trump is calling this a deal to increase US beef exports to the EU.
The details (thread above) show this is achieved by keeping other countries out of 35,000 tonnes of the 45,000-tonne tariff quota, so US beef has no non-EU competitors
The details (thread above) show this is achieved by keeping other countries out of 35,000 tonnes of the 45,000-tonne tariff quota, so US beef has no non-EU competitors
@jendeben And here's today's EU press release. Note:
"The Council will now recommend the agreement to the European Parliament for formal approval, so that it can enter into force in the near future."
Q: Where is the UK in this? How will it be split post-Brexit?
ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…
"The Council will now recommend the agreement to the European Parliament for formal approval, so that it can enter into force in the near future."
Q: Where is the UK in this? How will it be split post-Brexit?
ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…
@jendeben One of the reasons why some other suppliers may have accepted this could be the new EU-Mercosur agreement which has a new tariff quota rising to 99,000 tonnes after 5 years. although the tariff inside the quota is 7.5%, not zero
