The agreement, announced Friday evening, has above all a symbolic significance. But this is the first time " in more than two decades ", underlines the European Commission, that the United States and the European Union are negotiating lower tariffs.
The package of measures announced in a press release is quite heterogeneous. We learn that the tariffs on American lobsters will be eliminated. European imports of these crustaceans from across the Atlantic represented $ 111 million in 2017. In return, the Americans will halve the customs duties applied to imports worth $ 160 million per year. This decrease concerns prepared meals, certain crystal objects or lighters, details the press release in the form of a brief inventory à la Prévert.
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This liberalization of the trade in lobster and lighter marks " just the start of a process which will lead to other agreements" (to promote) "a freer and fairer transatlantic trade ", jointly declare the European Commissioner at Commerce, Irishman Phil Hogan, and Donald Trump negotiator Bob Lighthizer.
It is a sign of goodwill on both sides, we comment in Brussels. Transatlantic talks have not ceased for months in an attempt to lower the tension. Washington imposed punitive tariffs in October 2019 on European exports, including Airbus and French wines, worth 7.5 billion euros annually. This is a sanction taken with the green light from the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a fifteen-year-old dispute over subsidies granted to Boeing and Airbus. In addition, Washington is still threatening to overtax exports from countries that would implement "Gafa taxes".
