Czechs try to stave off farmers protest with duties on Polish pork imports

In reaction to the government's decision to subsidize exports of 41,000 ton es of pork to the Czech Republic, the Czech government decided to increase the duty on pork by 50% to 88.5%. The tit-for-tat move is clearly aimed at blocking the increased exports, irrespective of the fact that Polish pork e xports to the Czech Republic are not excessive. However the Czechs are stru ggling with an oversupply of pork. Due to the low price of pork, Czech farm ers seem set to follow the example of Polish farmers as they have threatened they could soon start to block border-crossings. The Czech government legit imated its tariff hike decision on the CEFTA agreement which gives its memb ers the right to abandon preferential duties on certain products if importi ng them would be detrimental to the importer's economy. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 23) J.K.