That’s the American spirit: US trade negotiators block an EU tariff on bourbon, for now
The US has blocked the European Union from imposing tariffs on American bourbon, at least for now. The US Trade Representative (USTR) said it had taken “defensive” action to prevent such a measure in response to the World Trade Organization’s objections to US subsidies on certain products. The USTR said it had exercised its right to suspend its obligations under the WTO subsidy ruling, and that such action was “infrequent and prudent defensive action in the face of imminent tariff retaliation.” It said that it was “confident that any retaliation based on the challenged subsidies would be entirely unwarranted and contrary to the agreement among WTO members.” The EU had proposed a 25% tariff on $3.2 billion of products, including bourbon, in response to US subsidies it has deemed to be illegal. In this case, US trade negotiators are displaying an extremely American spirit – protecting the livelihoods of those in their country – and using international agreements and WTO guidelines to do so.