Thaw in EU-US trade relations

Trade relations between the EU and the US seem to be thawing, as was evident from the recent telephonic meeting between European commissioner for agriculture and rural development Janusz Wojciechowski and the US secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack, which has been described as an attempt to relaunch “active bilateral co-operation”.

Transatlantic relations had been strained in recent years after the US announced punitive tariffs on EU agrifood products in October 2019. This followed a World Trade Organization ruling in favour of the US over EU subsidies for the French aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

The tariffs, enacted in March 2020, were levied on imports of EU products totalling €6,8 billion (about R122 billion), including Italian cheeses, French wines and Scotch whiskies.

The EU retaliated by imposing customs duties on US$4 billion (R60 billion) of US exports since the beginning of November last year.

The meeting was held just a few days after the US and EU announced a four-month reprieve on the tariffs.

“Prospects for constructive co-operation are looming, and a good signal is the suspension of US food tariffs from the EU,” Wojciechowski tweeted after the meeting.

In a statement, the EU farmers’ association Copa-Cogeca said that European farmers and agricultural co-operatives encouraged both partners to “use these four months to find a permanent solution while [avoiding] causing agriculture to pay a high price for a conflict they are not involved in”. – Staff reporter

PIXABAY The softening of trade tensions between the EU and the US has been welcomed by farmers‘ organisations, as agriculture has borne the brunt of retaliatory tariffs.