The European Commission (EC) is likely to impose tariffs on rice coming from Cambodia and Myanmar (Photo: www.ansa.it)Rome (VNA) – The EuropeanCommission (EC) is likely to impose tariffs on rice coming from Cambodia andMyanmar, according to the Italian Association for Agricultural and AppliedEconomics.
The EC’s proposal is to set a duty of 175 EUR (198.84 USD) pertonne of the grain in the 2019, and then 150 EUR and 125 EUR in the two followingyears. The measures are set to begin soon if there is no opposition.
A request to impose tariffs on rice from the two Southeast Asiancountries were submitted to the EC by the Italian government in February 2018,which asked to restore the tariffs as a protectionism measures in accordancewith Europe’s regulations.
It was backed by Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, Romania,Bulgaria and Hungary.
In December 2018, the European Union (EU) voted on restoring thetariffs on the two countries. However, the sufficient “qualified majority” was notformally achieved in order to impose the tariffs.
Earlier, the EC propose a probe to determine whether riceimports from Cambodia and Myanmar harm manufacturers in the EU.
Italy is the largest rice producer in Europe with more than219,300 ha under cultivation and an annual output of 1.4 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, a preferential trade agreement allows a surge of riceimports from Cambodia and Myanmar, from nearly 5,300 tonnes in 2008-2009 to372,000 tonnes in 2018. -VNA
