EU-US trade deal expected to confirm duty-free trade in spirits, French exporters say
PARIS (Reuters) -The French wine and spirits exporters' federation FEVS said on Monday the trade deal struck between the European Union and the United States was expected to confirm duty-free trade in spirits.
Since April, U.S. duties on EU spirits had been provisionally set at 10%.
As far as wine was concerned, not everything has been decided yet, the federation said, calling on the European Commission and France to obtain a cut in customs duties.
"Disaster has been avoided, but the coming days will be crucial for the sector," FEVS said in a statement.
"The agreement ...should confirm the restoration of bilateral trade free of duties for spirits, which we are eager to see confirmed in the official documents expected," said federation President Gabriel Picard.
"When it comes to wines, everything is not yet settled: that is why we are encouraging the European Commission and France to fully commit to this final stretch, to obtain the reduction in customs duties on wines, a proposal supported by both American and European stakeholders," he added.
According to a study by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association, a 15% increase in customs duties on wines would result in the loss of 17,000 jobs and a loss of more than $2.5 billion worth of business in the United States.
Under the framework deal, announced on Sunday between two economies accounting for almost a third of global trade, the U.S. will impose a 15% import tariff on most EU goods from next month, but it offers some protection for critical industries such as cars and pharmaceuticals.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Sybille de la Hamaide; Editing by Jan Harvey and Rod Nickel)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Rating firms say US tariffs alone will not trigger EU sovereign downgrades
At a sector level, Moody's warned that 'the credit effects will be significant' for companies that export a lot to the US. (EPA Images pic) LONDON : The sharp increase in US trade tariffs on the EU will not trigger immediate sovereign rating cuts, but could compound existing pressures, Fitch and other agencies said today, while Moody's warned of the effect on exporting firms. One of Fitch's top sovereign analysts, Ed Parker, said the US' baseline tariff of 15% on imports from the EU was in line with assumptions the rating agency has had since March and therefore did not materially shift its economic forecasts. 'Nevertheless, the 15% rate is a huge increase relative to the 1.2% rate of last year,' he said. 'We don't expect the increase in the tariff rate to directly drive EU rating changes on its own, but it could compound existing credit pressures,' Parker told Reuters. Smaller European-based agency Scope Ratings and Morningstar DBRS echoed the view, with Scope's head of sovereign ratings, Alvise Lennkh-Yunus, saying the tariffs arrived 'against a backdrop of accumulating economic shocks'. At a sector level, Moody's warned that 'the credit effects will be significant' for companies that export a lot to the US, depend on complex global supply chains and have limited pricing power in their markets. That includes carmakers like Stellantis and Volkswagen, whose ratings Moody's recently downgraded. Large diversified European manufacturing companies like Siemens and ABB generate about 25% of their revenue in the US. However, they tend to follow local-for-local strategies, sourcing at least 80% of their procurement within the US and should be able to pass at least some of the tariff increases on to customers. Uncertainty still remains about key goods such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceutical sector amounts to 25% of all EU exports to the US, analysts estimate. The exemption of aircraft components meanwhile eases expected tariff-related pressures for Airbus and MTU Aero Engines, 'which reinforces our already positive outlook for the global aerospace and defence sector,' Moody's said. It also said the 15% rate had been broadly in line with expectations it laid out when it cut its euro zone economic growth forecast for the year to below 1% in May. It did not give an EU-wide sovereign view, although it said Ireland, which it rates at Aa3 and has a 'positive' outlook on, was most exposed with total value-added exports to the US accounting for around 8% of its GDP back in 2020.
Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Philips chops back US tariff bill
Shares in Philips jumped more than 10% during morning trading. (EPA Images pic) AMSTERDAM : Dutch medical equipment manufacturer Philips said today that the impact of US tariffs would be much less than it initially estimated, sending its share price surging. The company had originally estimated in April that US tariffs could cost it €250 million to €300 million this year after President Donald Trump unveiled a 20% tariff rate for goods from the EU. Brussels and Washington reached a deal over the weekend that will see goods from the EU face a baseline 15% levy when imported into the US. It said today it now expects between €150 million and €200 million impact from US tariffs this year. Chief executive Roy Jakobs said Philips updated 'the guidance because we have certainty now around what is happening between the EU and the US.' Shares in Philips jumped more than 10% during morning trading, while the Amsterdam market rose around 0.4% overall. The trade deal has come under widespread criticism in Europe as having been lopsided, saddling its manufacturers with a costly 15% rate with little in return from the US as certainty is a relative concept given Trump's propensity to change positions. Jakobs said that certainty 'is what we value in' in the deal, while acknowledging 'it's a painful additional cost we have to carry'. The company still targets a one to 3% increase in annual sales. Second quarter net profit fell by 47% to €240 million, but last year's performance was boosted by exceptional income from insurance payouts linked to long-running issues with its sleep apnoea machines. Sales slid by 2.8% to €4.3 billion, although they edged higher on a comparable basis that excludes currency changes. The company also noted orders rose by 6% on a comparable basis. The appreciation of the euro relative to the dollar and other currencies has been crimping the results of European companies as their revenues abroad result in fewer euros on the balance sheet. Long known for its light bulbs and television sets, the Dutch company has refocused its business towards medical equipment.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Kazakhstan approved to export coal to EU via Russian ports
ALMATY: Kazakhstan has received approval from the European Union to export coal through Russian ports, despite ongoing sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The Central Asian nation, the EU's largest trading partner in the region, relies heavily on Russian transit routes due to its landlocked geography. The Kazakh trade ministry confirmed the development, stating, 'the European side introduced amendments providing for an exception to the ban on transactions with certain Russian ports for the transit of Kazakh coal.' The EU's latest sanctions package includes this exemption, ensuring continued coal shipments from Kazakhstan, which supplied 6.5% of the bloc's imports in early 2025. The waiver applies under strict conditions: the coal must originate solely from Kazakhstan, must not be owned by sanctioned entities, and Russian ports can only serve as transit points. The European Commission had previously hinted at such an exception in March, recognizing Kazakhstan's role as the fifth-largest coal supplier to the EU. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the EU has sought stronger energy ties with Kazakhstan while maintaining sanctions on Russian resources. However, Kazakhstan remains a close ally of Russia, sharing a 7,500-kilometre border. Western nations accuse Astana of facilitating sanctions evasion, a claim the Kazakh government denies. - AFP
