EU and US sign agreement on package of tariff cuts

The European Union has concluded an agreement with the United States on a package of tariff cuts, thanks to which the trade in goods between the US and the EU countries is to increase. As it was added in the communication, this is only to be the beginning of the tariff reduction process.

"This agreement is mutually beneficial and will have positive effects on both the US economy and the European Union," US Foreign Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said in their joint position.

"Our goal is that this package of tariff cuts will be the start of a process that will lead to additional agreements," they added.

As part of the agreement, the European Union will remove customs duties on the import of live lobsters and frozen products from them from the USA (their import in 2017 exceeded $111 million) on the basis of the most-favored-nation clause (MFN), retroactively from August 1, 2020.

Customs duties will be lifted for five years. The European Commission is to initiate procedures aimed at introducing these changes permanently.

In turn, the United States will cut by 50 percent its tariffs on certain products imported from the European Union, with an average value of $160 million per year, including certain ready meals, crystal glass products, surface preparations, lighters and lighter parts. Also, tariff reductions in the USA will be made on an MFN basis, with retroactive effect from August 1, 2020.

(money.pl)