Brussels, 28 November 2019.
EFOW, the European Federation of Origin Wines (www.efow.eu), welcomes the willingness of European authorities to help European producers who are facing an increase in US taxes following the Airbus case. It also calls the Member States concerned to put in place effective support measures without further delay.
EFOW welcomes the adoption of a resolution by the European Parliament calling for measures to alleviate the consequences for European agriculture of the WTO decision on the Airbus dispute and Commissioner Hogan’s proposals on promotion aid in wine national support programmes. However, EFOW believes that this remains insufficient and that concrete action is needed in the short term. It is essential that the Member States concerned take concrete measures to help the sector cope with US retaliation measures.
EFOW members call on the Commission to amend the European legislation as soon as possible to allow Member States to release promotion funds for affected wine producers. They encourage the European executive to launch a promotional campaign in the USA and to continue to seek a negotiated solution to end this conflict.
The President of EFOW, Mr Bernard Farges, notes that “European viticulture is a collateral victim of a conflict in which it was not involved. The United States are the leading export market for appellation wines; having to face tariffs at 25% “ad valorem” is a real disaster for the products we represent. In response to this situation, we expect a concrete and rapid response from the national authorities, to compensate for the losses suffered by the products affected by this trade war, and from the European Commission to set up targeted promotional actions in the United States and other markets”.