Wild fish caught in crossfire.
The WTO has concluded that The European Union can take countermeasures with respect to the United States at a level not exceeding, in total, USD 4 billion annually. This was in retaliation for illegal American aid to plane maker Boeing, a year after the EU was sanctioned for its support of Airbus.
In October 2019, President Trump got the go-ahead from the World Trade Organization to impose tariffs on as much as USD 7.5 billion worth of European exports annually in long-running transatlantic dispute over aircraft subsidies.
Scottish salmon has continually taken on and off (and now on again) the diplomatic negotiating table. But according to a list of targets seen by AFP, reported by This is Money, the European Union is expected to impose tariffs – from 15 per-cent to 25 per-cent – on Pacific salmon, as well as aircraft made in the United States, along with tractors, sweet potatoes, peanuts, frozen orange juice, tobacco, and ketchup.
Publications, including the FT, say that Brussels hopes WTO decision will prompt two sides to settle the long-running state-aid dispute.
Undercurrent News reported that the US exported 12,078 tonnes of sockeye salmon (part of the Pacific salmon family which also includes king, coho, pink, sockeye, and chum) worth USD 97.2 million in August.
