Ron Kirk with Catherine Ashton (EU)
Within days of imposing anti-dumping duties on US biodiesel imports for up to five years, the European Union (EU) officials met in Washington DC with their US counterparts to discuss other bilateral trade relations.
Highlighting the success story of the resolution of a decade old dispute over beef, the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and visiting EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton listed four major trade issues for upcoming negotiations.
The list included US rice exports to the EU; a fallout from the US online gambling laws; a WTO dispute over rights to play Irish music in the US commercial establishments; and the trade implications of chemical regulations in the EU as well as the US.
Addressing journalists after the talks, Ashton said, “Today was not a day to resolve any problems, but rather to set out the approach we are going to take, who would do what, and to agree to keep in touch.”
BEEF ROW
In May 2009, the US-EU Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the beef hormones dispute was signed. The MoU increased the EU import quota for beef other than disputed hormone-treated variety thus ending a row that spanned nearly two decades.
Pointing to this, the latest joint statement said, “(This MoU) underscored that even disagreements that have persisted for many years can sometimes be set on a course towards resolution through pragmatic, problem-solving approaches.”
LONG-GRAIN RICE
The rice controversy boiled over in 2006 when traces of a genetically modified rice variety, not approved by the strict EU laws, were found in imports and the EU immediately halted imports of US rice.
“Discussions on this issue among European Commission and US government agriculture and trade experts will continue in the coming weeks,” the joint statement stated.
IRISH MUSIC
The two sides agreed to find ways “to address the WTO dispute on Section 110(5) of the US Copyright Act (the so-called “Irish music” dispute), which relates to music licensing.”
“We directed our staffs to explore new options on this dispute in the coming weeks,” the statement added. The dispute arose from the US establishments playing the copyrighted Irish music.
CHEMICAL DIALOGUE
The “Chemical Regulation” which has taken a centre stage in recent times in the EU brought the two sides to state: “We agreed to initiate a practical dialogue on the trade implications of chemicals regulation in the United States and the EU. We directed our staffs to discuss the substantive agenda and format for this dialogue in the coming weeks.”
GAMBLING LOSSES
The transatlantic discussions also took note of “the European Commission Trade Barrier Regulation Report” on online gambling and its “implications for the WTO rights and obligations of the parties concerned.”
The report, commissioned by the European Commission found that the US virtual gambling laws resulted in huge losses for the European companies.
Coming three years ago from the US legislative body, the ruling had made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.
ABSENT ISSUES
Some issues like more than a decade long banana trade were conspicuously missing from the list of four subjects but were later addressed by the two sides in the joint statement.
Over the years, Latin American growers of bananas and US commercial traders have repeatedly locked horns over the EU's banana import system which discriminates favorably the countries that are mainly former European colonies.
The joint statement read: “We share an interest in resolving longstanding disputes on banana trade on terms acceptable to all concerned parties, and will work with all parties to this end.”
Another area left out of talks was the EU-US conflict over subsidies to aircraft companies European Airbus and American Boeing by respective sides.
Ashton, however, stressed its importance to the journalists adding, “I don't rule out the possibility that at some point we'll want to discuss that too.”
FIVE YEAR SLAP OF
DUTIES ON BIODIESEL
On the eve of the meeting, the EU extended import fees on US biodiesel affecting biodiesel exported to the EU countries by the US firms like Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Cargill Inc.
The 27 nation bloc in a statement extended for five years temporary fees they imposed in March.The duties, coming into force on July 12, range from 23 euros (32 dollars) to 41 euros per 100 kilogrammes (160 pounds) and would last for up to five years.
The dispute cropped up when European Union, in its effort to reduce oil dependency and fight climate change, committed at the March 2007 European Council, to raise the share of biofuels in transport from current levels of around 2% to at least 10% by 2020.
In April, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) complained to the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU that a US Federal measure allowing for minimal biodiesel blends to be subsidized before being exported has led to a “dramatic surge” in US biodiesel exports to the EU and was “creating a severe injury” to the European industry.
The EBB, representing 56 companies and associations in the EU and responsible for 80% of biofuel production in the EU, called upon the EU "to initiate an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation, with a view to imposing as soon as possible countervailing measures against US 'B99' exports to the EU".
The EU trade investigation found that US producers sold biodiesel to Europe far below the real costs of production and received federal tax credits and state subsidies. EU officials said this helped US exporters increase their share of the EU market for biodiesel from 0.4% in 2005 to more than 17% from April 2007 to March 2008.
NEXT MEET
The two sides are set to meet again in September. “Our discussion also touched upon how better to cooperate in preventing disputes and on preparations for the fall meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council,” the US-EU joint statement concluded.
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