Direct marketers caught in the middle of a trade war between the U.S. and the European Union over bananas will soon find themselves smack in the middle of another one–this time over meat, motorcycles, and mushrooms.
The Clinton Administration said Monday that in June it planned to double the import taxes on 81 products from Europe ranging from hams from Denmark and Poland and truffles and Roquefort cheese from France to cut flowers and assorted foliage for bouquets and ornamental purposes and fresh tomatoes from Holland, as well as assorted European sausages and motorcycles, including mopeds.
U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky explained in a statement that the U.S. action stemmed from the European Union’s ban on U.S.-produced beef containing growth hormones, a move that could cost beef producers some $500 million a year. According to the federal Food and Drug Administration more than 90% of U.S. cattle producers use the hormones to make cattle grow faster and larger.
Charles Prescott, the Direct Marketing Association’s senior vice president, international development, blasted the EU’s action, predicting it would have a major impact on marketers and catalogers of gourmet foods and assorted garden supplies, including 1-800-FLOWERS.
But Dutch Gardens, an Adelphia, NJ-based cataloger of flowers shipped directly from Holland, would not be affected by the increased tariffs according to Rodney Brown, president “because we don’t offer cut items, only actual bulbs and plants that are live and suitable for planting.”
Foster & Gallagher, a Peoria, IL-based cataloger/marketer of European flower bulbs, roses and other greenery through its Spring Hill Group catalogs also would not be affected for the same reasons, according to a spokesperson.
Prescott also told Direct Newsline that the DMA is negotiating with the administration to lower some of the tariffs on selected European goods, including imported papers used to produce many catalogs and direct mail pieces. The prices of these were doubled because of dispute with the EU over banana import quotas favoring British and French owned companies over those owned by American firms.
On March 3 the U.S. doubled the import duties on a number of items sold by catalog, including Scotch-made woolens, Irish linens, German-made coffee makers, and Italian cheeses in addition to assorted grades of European-made paper products.
Network
