IEA applaud steel decision but warn on future sanctions
The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) welcomed the scrapping of the US Steel Import tax by the Bush Administration yesterday, but called for immediate action on the foreign sales corporation dispute.
The IEA consider this dispute as a potentially more damaging trade issue.
John Whelan, CEO of the IEA, expressed relief on the settlement of the steel dispute saying "good sense prevailed in the end".
He emphasised that the US is now our largest market taking up to 22% of all exports this year.
He added that we take 17% of all our imports from the US and if the dispute had gone ahead it would have added €40m to our import costs.
On the issue of the foreign sales corporation dispute he called on Brian Cowen, the minister for foreign affairs, to raise the matter with his US and EU counterparts to prevent the imposition of an additional 5% custom duty on US products.
The duties, set to be introduced on the 1 March 2004, would be in retaliation for the US refusal to comply with WTO rulings.
The imported goods affected would include foodstuffs, clothing, steel, machinery and sports equipment.