Posted on 03/26/2002 8:53:12 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
European officials are set to announce retaliatory tariffs tomorrow in response to President Bush's decision earlier this month to slap duties on steel imports to the United States.
An even larger trade war looms, however, as EU ministers have also drawn up a list of imports that will be taxed if the U.S. refuses to pay compensation for the trade barriers.
In measures expected to be adopted Wednesday, the European Union will put tariffs ranging from 14.9 to 26 percent on 15 categories of steel product, compared with U.S. duties of 8 to 30 percent on 21 different products.
The tariffs will take effect next week and last for a maximum of six months, although they could become permanent depending on U.S. action. EU commissioners promised that they would immediately drop the charges if U.S. officials did the same.
"What we intend to do with safeguard measures is to protect our market without being protectionist," European trade spokesman Anthony Gooch told reporters. "What we will not be doing is taking on board the steel that the United States is closing out of its market."
The 15 EU nations and several other countries have already lodged complaints with the World Trade Organization, and under WTO rules are allowed to impose emergency tariffs while their grievances are considered. The European measures will include a duty-free quota equal to the average level of imports over the past three years plus 10 percent.
Officials say that setting the tariff-free level will allow normal imports but tax products that end up in Europe as a direct result of the U.S. action.
Gooch said steel imports into the EU had risen over the past three years and that an additional $4 billion worth of steel could make its way to Europe as a result of the U.S. tariffs, a figure that would represent an increase of more than 50 percent.
European leaders argue that while U.S. steel imports have fallen by a third in the past three years, EU imports have gone up by 18 percent.
European commissioners have also threatened to tax a number of imported goods if America refuses to pay compensation of $2.5 billion a year for levying the tariffs. The list includes such things as textiles, motorcycles, citrus fruits, rice and paper.
On Monday, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative hit back at the European action and said the U.S. government could file its own WTO complaint.
"We seriously question whether the EU action on safeguards is appropriate given that there has been no time to determine whether there's been an increase in exports that caused injury," a spokesman said. "The U.S. and, I imagine, other countries will now consider whether we should challenge the EU's action in the WTO."
Cool maybe our latest focus group president will quietly pay off the europeans. Than we would have americans paying tribute to the american steel companies at the same time they are paying tribute to european companies through taxation.
Even Clinton would have had a tough time pulling off that trick.
Cool maybe our latest focus group president will quietly pay off the europeans. Than we would have americans paying tribute to the american steel companies at the same time they are paying tribute to european companies through taxation.
Even Clinton would have had a tough time pulling off that trick.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.