EU & US producer associations call for tariff-free transatlantic spirits trade
spiritsEurope and Distilled Spirits Council of the United States have joined forces to highlight the benefits of free trade as part of a new brochure.
The EU and the US are each other’s biggest export destinations, with bilateral trade having grown by +450% since both sides agreed to a landmark transatlantic ‘zero for zero’ agreement in 1997, which ended most tariffs on spirits, the associations pointed out.
However, in connection to trade disputes unrelated to the spirits sector, the US and EU have imposed tariffs on certain spirits: in June 2018, the EU imposed 25% tariffs on American Whiskey as part of a reaction to US restrictions on European steel and aluminium imports.
In October 2019, the US imposed 25% tariffs on Single-Malt (or straight) Irish and Scotch Whiskies from the UK as well as l and cordials from Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK following a WTO ruling approving US countermeasures in response to EU civil aircraft subsidies to Airbus.
“Transatlantic spirits trade is a hallmark example for the enormous mutual gains that can be achieved for consumers and producers whenever trade is free. Unfortunately, amidst recent EU-US trade tensions, our sector has been turned into a hallmark example of the considerable, yet entirely avoidable economic risks and damage whenever free trade is interrupted by tariffs” said Ulrich Adam director general of spiritsEUROPE.
Following the imposition of EU tariffs in 2018, US Whiskey exports to the EU declined by -29% between January and November 2019 (compared to January – November 2018). After the imposition of US tariffs on certain European spirits in October 2019, evidence is starting to emerge about similar economic damage.
Chris Swonger, DISCUS president and CEO d European Commission to remove the rebalancing tariffs on US Whiskey that were imposed in connection to US steel and aluminium tariffs and to exclude US spirits from the final retaliation list in the Boeing dispute, in case it cannot be resolved beforehand.
“We also urge USTR to simultaneously remove tariffs on imported EU spirits, as they are exerting a significant negative impact also on the US market,” concluded Adam and Swonger.
