On Friday 29 August, the European Dairy Association (EDA) criticised the EU-US trade agreement (see EUROPE 13697/4).
The agreement introduces substantial new market openings on the EU side. The creation of tariff-free quotas (TRQs) of 20,000 tonnes for US dairy products “is more than a symbolic gesture”; it represents a “significant commitment of new market access”, over and above existing WTO quotas reserved exclusively for US origin, notes the EDA. It is concerned that other trading partners may request similar treatment under WTO non-discrimination rules.
“In the EU–Mercosur negotiations, the EU obtained only 10,000 tonnes of cheese access into Mercosur after more than two decades of talks, while in the present agreement we are offering the same volume to US exporters immediately” notes the EDA.
On the US side, the 15% tariff ceiling provides certainty against the threat of higher tariffs, but some European dairy products that previously entered with lower rates could now face higher costs, says the EDA. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)