Earlier this week, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis announced the start of discussions to address global steel and aluminum excess capacity. They agreed to enter into discussions on the mutual resolution of concerns in this area that addresses steel and aluminum excess capacity and the deployment of effective solutions, including appropriate trade measures, to preserve critical industries. To ensure the most constructive environment for these joint efforts, they agreed to avoid changes on these issues that negatively affect bilateral trade.
As part of its effort to reboot transatlantic trade, the EU announced that it will not double its tariff on American whiskeys to 50% on June 1, as was previously announced.
Statement by Margie A.S. Lehrman, CEO of the American Craft Spirits Association:
“Following nearly three years of international trade-related setbacks and more than a year of a pandemic that has hamstrung our industry, we are heartened by this very encouraging development between U.S. and EU trade policy leaders. Prior to the implementation of the recent series of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, international demand for American spirits, particularly whiskey, had been surging. Many American craft spirits producers had relied on overseas markets to grow their businesses and have had to face dramatically reduced revenue streams when the tariffs were implemented. While craft distillers are certainly relieved that the already onerous export tariff burden on their small businesses won’t double in less than two weeks, we recognize that this is only a first step in a more complicated process of eliminating such trade headwinds. ACSA will continue to work with the Biden Administration to achieve that ultimate outcome.”