WTO imposes stiffest sanctions ever on US

Thanks to Bush's protectionist illegal trade policy on US steel, the WTO has given the go ahead for the EU to impose massive sanctions on American goods:

American jeans, Florida orange juice and dozens of other US
products could double in price from next month because of a growing
transatlantic trade war.
The World Trade Organisation gave the European Union permission
yesterday to impose huge import tariffs, which will allow price
increases of between 8 and 100 per cent on a range of goods. The row,
which began when America imposed special duties of up to 30 per cent on
European steel last year, reached a climax yesterday when the trade
watchdog gave a final decision in favour of the EU. It said the US
action was "inconsistent" with free trade commitments. Europe can now
impose duties on products ranging from T-shirts and lavatory paper, to
bras, pantyhose, suspenders, ballpoint pens, ski suits and bowling
alley equipment. Harley Davidson motorcycles were included in an early
draft of the sanctions list, but were not included yesterday. The EU
says its sanctions, amounting to �2.2bn (�1.5bn) a year, will come
into force on 15 December unless Washington drops its steel duties. The sanctions would be the biggest in the history of the WTO.
The WTO's decision comes at a sensitive time, with the US presidential
campaign about to begin in earnest. In drawing up its list of
sanctions, the EU has deliberately selected products from states which
are crucial to President Bush's electoral hopes.

Posted by flow Frazao on November 11, 2003 at 08:52 AM | Permalink