FollowFine Gael MEP Colm Markey has called on the EU and the U.S. to redouble their efforts to resolve a long-running trade dispute, which has resulted in retaliatory tariffs placed on a range on Irish products.
He made the comments ahead of Tuesday’s EU-U.S. summit in Brussels, which will be attended by President Joe Biden.
Both sides agreed in March to suspend all retaliatory tariffs on EU and U.S. exports imposed as part of the Airbus/Boeing row for a four-month period, with the suspension expiring on July 10th.
Colm Markey said. “President Biden has promised a new relationship between the U.S. and the EU following four years of protectionism under the Trump administration. Talk about a return to multilateralism must be followed up by action and today’s EU-U.S. summit offers the perfect opportunity to set out a plan to bring this near 17 year old dispute to an end.”
The Midlands-North-West MEP added that both exporters and importers need certainty, particularly in the context of the COVID recovery.
“Since 2019, a 25% tariff has been placed on Irish good such as liqueurs, whiskey and other agricultural produce. With reciprocal tariffs placed on animal feed coming into Ireland, this has affected the beef, pork, and poultry sectors. The decision to temporarily suspend the tariffs in March was very much welcome but now both sides need to go the extra mile and end these tit-for-tat tariffs once and for all. Our importers and exporters need some certainty, particularly in the post-COVID era.”
