Greece Asks for Exemption From U.S. Tariffs on E.U. Products
By COSTAS VASILOPOULOS on August 5, 2019
Filed in European Union
During a meeting with the American Ambassador to Athens, Geoffrey Pyatt, the Greek Minister of Agricultural Development and Food, Makis Voridis, requested that Greece be excluded from potential tariffs imposed on agricultural products imported in the US from the European Union as retaliation to EU subsidies to Airbus.
Voridis said that the close relations Greece and the United States have developed in the context of the strategic dialogue justify the exemption.
He also specified that mainly the small producers of Greece would be affected by the tariffs.
“This is a trade war that does not relate to Greece,” he stated. “On the contrary, the possibility of tariffs on farm products of Greek interest — such as olive oil, table olives, fruit preserves and frozen cherries — will harm the income of a large number of small-scale producers.”
There was no official response from Ambassador Pyatt to the minister’s request. The two also discussed the collaboration of Rutgers University of New Jersey with the American Farm School of Thessaloniki and the Agricultural University of Athens on agriculture for young farmers and alternative tourism training programs.