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 Newsdesk
 Removal
of duty on US imports
President Bush has finally signed a bill to remove FSCs – the tax
legislation that has led to the EU imposing additional duties on many imports
from the US, eg, toys, bags and domestic appliances.
The additional duties, which the EU started to impose earlier this
year, now stand at 12% and have become a serious barrier to trade.
The US bill will not remove the benefits of FSCs straightaway and
transitional arrangements will apply until 2006 when new tax arrangements will
enter into force. The European Commission is analysing the provisions of this
new bill and has asked the WTO to ensure that it will make the US fully
compliant with WTO rules. While
the WTO carries out this investigation, the EC intends to suspend the
additional duties on US imports but needs to pass new legislation to do this. It is hoped that a new regulation can be passed within the
next week or two, so importers affected by this legislation should delay
importing over the next few days.
Of course, should the WTO find that the measures in the new
bill are not compliant with WTO rules, these additional duties could be
re-introduced at a later date.
Barbara Scott
28 October 2004
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