The World Trade Organization decision to allow US President Donald Trump to impose additional tariffs on European exports worth € 7.5 billion directly damage the Greek exports to the United States.
The new tariffs are to take effect on October 18, 2019, and affect a wide range of Greek products dairy, seafood and agricultural products and products categories exported to the US.
The Greek products will be hit with a 25% additional tariff.
According to economic news site new money, the Greek products affected are:
Yoghurt
Cheeses and cheese substitutes (blends), pecorino
Dairy: butter, margarine, ointments, cream
Fruits: peaches, oranges, tangerines, lemons, cherries, pears
fruit salads, desserts, compotes
Fruit and vegetable juices
Packed port
Mussels, shells, seafood.
Only exemption from the tariffs are Greek olive oil and Greek edible olives, the Greek Ministry for Rural Development announced on Friday.
Greek olive oil and Greek edible olives will not be subject to additional US duties, the Ministry statement said, stressing that this contributes to the seamless export of these two leading agricultural products to the large US market.
“It also allows these two products to gain a competitive advantage over similar products,” the statement added.
It attributed the exception to the “persistent and targeted efforts of the Greek government” in order to reduce the economic impact on Greek products since July 31 when Minister Makis Voridis held a meeting with US Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, while PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on September 7.
The remaining products have export worth of $58 million, SYRIZA said in a statement criticizing the New Democracy government for failing to include more products, among them signature ones like the Feta cheese.
It calls on the government to address the European bodies and create a common line on the issue “as the former government attempted.”
A peach farmer told media on Friday that the economic damages will be immense as they follow specific package standards for the export to the US. “We cannot export our peaches to other countries,” he stressed.
Also the Italian olive oil was exempted from the new tariffs.
Tariffs are paid by the IMPORTING country not the EXPORTING country. Mr. Trump has yet to realize (or refuses to) that applying tariffs hurts Americans. The effect for Greece, of course, would be that there would be fewer sales (exports).
Prices have risen here in Canada like you would not believe.
This is bad. I live off of Greek products. I am an American living in Greece. If I return to USA then I have to pay 25% more for my Greek cheeses and fruits? This is screwed up. I still don’t understand why olive oil is an exception. Olives are fruits as well, just pressed and salted. Trump seems to be anti-trade. Wish these laws didn’t apply to me personally as I didn’t vote for Trump. I voted for Darrell Castle instead who was the Constitution Party’s candidate. Wish one of these third-party candidates would win for a change. It would be interesting to see how they would fare. Likely on important matters it would matter much as these politicians are just puppets to those who own them. They aren’t public servants to the majority of people but only those who wield the most influence. Our elections are a fraud and a farce in the USA. They are always rigged. They have to be rigged since most Americans now are registered independents or no party.