President Trump recently announced that he is considering imposing punitive tariffs on a wide range of products from the European Union. Recently, the World Trade Organization found that the E.U. subsidized aircraft companies (specifically, Airbus), which harmed the U.S. to the tune of $11 billion in trade per year. The U.S. Trade Representative is planning, under Section 310 of the 1974 Trade Act, to impose additional duties to offset the damage to the United States caused by those subsidies. The U.S.T.R. says that additional duties might be as high as 100%, effective as early as June 1, 2019, on certain products from the E.U. member countries.
There are 2 sections of products that are listed. The first section is primarily aircraft related products from the U.K., France, Germany and Spain. The second section applies to all the E.U. countries and lists 318 different tariff numbers, including many food products, some windes, as well as some leather handbags, some papers and paper products, some rugs and carpets, sweaters, ski-suits, some outerwear, men’s or boys’ suits, women’s or girls’ swimwear, blankets, bed linens, building products, some tools, and several other products. If your company is importing from the E.U., please check with your Customs broker or look for the H.T.S. number on the following website: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/301Investigations/Preliminary_Product_List.pdf
