Where are the US punitive tariffs coming from?

The US has been imposing levies on biscuits and bakery products at a rate of 25% since October 2019. It was a reaction to the subsidies that some EU countries provided to Airbus. Airbus is the main European rival of the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing.

As a result, exports to the United States plummeted by 30% in the first half of 2020, the German Confectionery Industry Association (BDSI) reported. Until now, the USA has been the most important market outside the EU for biscuit producers.

The mostly family-run, medium-sized companies now have to do without this laboriously developed market. Overnight, they lost a market that brought jobs. These are now in danger, complained Andreas Nickenig, Chairman of the Fine Baked Goods Division of the BDSI. For many companies, doing business in the U.S. is important so that they can utilize their production facilities to capacity.

In addition to baked goods, other specialty food products such as wine, cheese, butter, and olive oil were also hit with sensitive U.S. punitive tariffs.

The companies are now criticising the policy. Unlike countries such as France and Italy, Germany had focused only on industrial goods. The Federal Association of the Confectionery Industry pleads for a compensation fund to compensate uninvolved companies in disputes such as the Airbus dispute.

Baking not only small cookies with Ehlert

Rely completely on Ehlert for the production of your biscuits and baked goods. We are the supply chain specialist you can trust 100%. With our location in Germany, ingredients and spices arrive reliably. Benefit from our excellent price-performance ratio and get everything from one source. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We look forward to you!