The Office of the US Trade Representative said Wednesday it would adjust tariffs on certain brands of wine and cognac from France and Germany in retaliation for $4 billion worth of duties that the European Union imposed on US goods in September. The tariffs will take effect on 12 January.
"If the situation does not change, FEVS estimates a potential loss in the coming year at more than a billion euros [$1.2 billion]," it said in a statement.
The exporters’ union said it had paid an additional 600 million euros in tariffs between November 2019 and October 2020. FEVS said it had called on the French and European authorities to engage immediately in talks with the incoming US administration to remedy the situation.
The European Commission said Thursday it regretted the US move to hike import tariffs on an array of products from France and Germany and would engage in talks to find a lasting solution to their row.
"The EU will engage with the new US administration at the earliest possible moment to continue these negotiations and find a lasting solution to the dispute," it said in an emailed statement.
The European Union's executive arm warned that the US decision to add further products to its retaliation list in the case involving EU subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus "unilaterally disrupts" the ongoing talks.
The US Office of the US Trade Representative said on Wednesday that tariffs would be adjusted to compensate for the "unfairness" of $4 billion worth of tariffs that the EU imposed on US products in September.
The products subject to the new tariffs, which take effect on 12 January, include aircraft manufacturing parts, certain non-sparkling wine and certain cognac and other grape brandies. All products come from France and Germany.