The US government has withdrawn its threat to impose a 100 percent duty on wines with less than 14 percent alcohol from Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. This was announced by the US trade representative Robert Lighthizer in a statement. Instead of this, aircraft parts that are exempted in Europe will now be subject to a duty of 15 instead of ten percent. However, the already existing import duties of 25 percent on wines will remain in place for the foreseeable future. An inspection by the US Trade Representative (USTR) authority is not scheduled until August. Meanwhile, negotiations between the EU and the US government are continuing, although no concrete progress is foreseeable at present.
(uka)