Querelle Airbus - Boeing, no duties for Italian wine and oil. The U.S. punishes France and Spain

Half a win. It is the taste that leaves in the mouth the disclosure, by the U.S. government, of the final list of EU productions ready to end up under the axe of duty, made public tonight, after the green light of the WTO in Washington, to retaliate in the dispute between Boeing and Airbus, on the Old Continent, for a total of 7.5 billion dollars (equal to 6.9 billion euros, a record in the history of the WTO) of new duties, which will not affect, and this is really great news, the Italian wine, and not even the extra virgin olive oil. However, the agri-food sector, which for weeks has made estimates, budgets and forecasts, is not immune from the 25% tariffs that will come into force on 18 October. In the “Final Product List” of the “Section 301 Investigation - EU Large Civil Aircraft” (the dossier opened in 2003, ed) there are still cheeses, starting with Parmigiano Reggiano (so the duties will rise from the current 2.15 to 6 dollars per kilo, for a final cost that increases from 40 to 45 dollars per kilo, as the Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano recalls) and from Pecorino Romano, but also processed pork, and therefore ham, as well as decidedly more marginal sectors, such as fruit and vegetables and biscuits, but also others that have a significant market in the USA, such as liqueurs.

The most important aspect that emerges from the final list strongly desired by US President Donald Trump is an appreciable disparity in treatment between those who, from European countries, are within the Airbus consortium, i.e. France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain, and those who are outside it. If Italian wine can, in fact, breathe a sigh of relief, our main overseas competitor, France, has something to worry about, because its wine production, as well as those of Spain and Germany, will suffer an increase in duties of 25%, however limited to bottled wine, up to 14 degrees, excluding sparkling wines (Wine other than Tokay (not carbonated), not over 14% alcohol, in containers not over 2 liters, says the document).
It is difficult to say whether it is the result of the good Italian offices in Washington, whether it is the victory of diplomacy or, more simply, the revenge of a bit of common sense in a dispute of more than ten years that risks dragging on for years, with civil aviation, stone of the scandal, which in the end will suffer an increase in duties of just 10% ...