EU to end sanctions on imported US goods

EU to end sanctions on imported US goods

The European Union announced on Friday that it will end sanctions worth $4 billion on US goods imported to the EU. However EU officials added that they may consider reimposing penalty tarifss up to 60% of the original $4 billion, if no compromise on transition period regarding US tax break law (Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC) law) is reached. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, penalty tariffs on many US goods, including steel, textiles, and jewelry, started with %5 in March 2004 and have increased by 1% each month since then. The repeal of FSC was signed into law in October by President Bush however EU complained that the legislation allows too long a transition period for US companies, thereby the legislation still does not comply with WTO rules. As a response to the announcement made by the EU on Friday, Bush administration said that the EU should have made the decision in October when the legislation was signed into law.