Scottish salmon dodges Trump’s tarrifs as WTO greenlights billions of dollars worth of duties on EU agricultural goods

Commander in Chief now cleared to whack billions of dollars worth of duties on EU agricultural goods. However, salmon is now not on the list of items that will be subject to the additional tariffs.

Scottish whisky make the climb up in price in the States after President Trump got the go-ahead from the World Trade Organization on Wednesday to impose tariffs on as much as USD 7.5 billion worth of European exports annually.

In April, Trump said he was ready to hit European exporters with fresh duties in retaliation against over USD 11 billion (GBP 8.4 billion) worth of damage from EU subsidies to Airbus that the World Trade Organization found caused “adverse effects” to the United States.

The WTO ruling, which is 15 years in the making, will mean the US can levy tariffs on EU goods from 18 October, reports the BBC.

Earlier in the year, the list included virgin olive oil, lemons, as well as salmon fillets, fresh or chilled if they come from any of the 28 EU states.

However, the list that US trade officials compiled of all the items that will be subject to the additional tariffs, most of which will apply to imports from France, Germany, Spain and the UK, salmon is absent. Though this may change at a later date.

The only mention of fish is regarding “Mussels, containing fish meats or in prepared meals”.

In June, when Trump tweeted it, a SSPO spokesperson told SalmonBusiness that it was “keeping a watching brief on any potential USA trade barriers. We are closely involved with UK and EU officials to monitor the situation”.

The UK is still in the EU, though is set to leave later at the end of this month and is currently negotiating a trade deal with the US.

Newsletter

Related Articles