World News | EU Agrees to Cut Taxes on US Lobsters in Modest Trade Pact
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The United States and the European Union announced a modest agreement Friday to cut tariffs on less than $300 million worth of annual trade between them.
Washington, Aug 21 (AP) The United States and the European Union announced a modest agreement Friday to cut tariffs on less than $300 million worth of annual trade between them.
The EU will drop import taxes on US lobster for the next five years and will work to make the move permanent.
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For its part, the United States agreed to cut in half tariffs on EU imports worth about $160 million a year, including some prepared meals, crystal glassware and cigarette lighters. The tariff cuts are retroactive to August 1.
US lobster imports to the EU came to about $111 million in 2017 before falling off in the face of rising tensions between the trading partners and an EU trade agreement with Canada that favoured Canadian lobster. Maine's beleaguered lobster industry had pleaded for relief.
The pact covers a fraction of US-EU trade, which came to more than $1.3 trillion last year. The limited deal is part of ongoing trade negotiations that were announced in 2018.
“We intend for this package of tariff reductions to mark just the beginning of a process that will lead to additional agreements that create more free, fair, and reciprocal transatlantic trade,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said in a joint statement. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)