A public hearing on imposing potential 100% import tariffs on some 90 European products — particularly targeting agricultural products from France, Germany and Italy — will be held Feb. 15 in Washington, DC, by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).
USTR published the list of potential products to be targeted in a Dec. 28, 2016, Federal Register notice which also announced the Feb. 15 hearing. While most of the 90-odd products targeted by the U.S. retaliatory list are meats, it also includes goods such as for motorbikes, chocolate, mustard, paprika and chestnuts.
The tariff proposal stems from a dispute that has been simmering for nearly 30 years over the European Union’s (EU) refusal to accept imports of U.S. beef treated with hormones. US livestock producer interests are pushing the Trump administration to hit the EU hard. The bloc has a 136 billion euro ($144.6 billion) surplus with the US, making it particularly vulnerable to trade sanctions.
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