In the ever-changing status of tariffs, the American Peanut Council reports that the European Union on April 10, announced a 90-day pause on the application of retaliatory tariffs that would have included certain U.S. peanut products. EU President Von der Layen stated that the pause is to allow for negotiations with the United States.
As recently as April 9, the EU’s member states voted to impose additional 25% tariffs on a range of U.S. goods, including peanut butter and peanut oil, in response to President Trump’s tariffs on imports of EU steel and aluminum. The 25% tariffs on peanut butter were originally scheduled to take effect on April 15 and would be on top of the most favored nation tariff of 12.8%. The 25% tariffs on U.S. peanut oil was scheduled to be applied on May 16. However, once President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the U.S. “reciprocal” tariffs higher than 10%, EU President Von der Layen announced a 90-day pause on the retaliatory tariffs related to U.S. aluminum and steel tariffs.
Over the past week, the United States and China have escalated tariffs being imposed on each other in quick order. As of this writing, China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. inshell, shelled and blanched peanuts are 84%, in addition to China’s regular import duty of 15%. For peanut butter and processed peanuts, the retaliatory duty is 94% in addition to the regular import duty of 5%. Peanut oil duties are 84% in addition to the regular duty of 10%, and peanut oilcake duties are 84%. In response to China’s retaliatory action, on April 9, President Trump announced tariffs of 125% on Chinese goods. It is not clear whether China will be announcing further retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods in response to the latest increase.
