In a letter addressed to the European Commissioners for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, and Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, on Tuesday 12 January, 60 MEPs call for the establishment of a compensation fund for agricultural sectors that suffer from US tariffs.
These taxes came into force on Tuesday and cover aircraft spare parts (15%), non-sparkling wines and French cognacs (25%). They come in response to the retaliatory measures taken in November 2020 by the EU towards its overseas partner in the Airbus/Boeing spat (see EUROPE 12629/4).
According to the French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters, the customs tariffs coming into force could cost the sector a loss of more than a billion euros.
The letter, drafted on the initiative of MEP Irène Tolleret (Renew Europe, France), was signed by around 20 French MEPs. They express regret at the lack of financial support to compensate for losses in the agri-food sector due to trade disputes. “We are convinced that urgent measures must be taken to help the sectors concerned”, the signatories wrote.
On Tuesday, the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, addressed the same request to the European Commission and criticised the “slow response” of the European institution in this regard.
See the letter: http://bit.ly/2MXXyfH (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)