The additional duties are due to an ongoing dispute between the EU and the USA.
I'm not sure as to exactly how much the UK government or UK Customs + Excise have to do with this. It is the EU as a whole that is in dispute with the USA, so I would imagine these additional duties are EU wide, and not something which the UK has much say about.
I'm not saying who is right or wrong in this dispute, so don't shoot the messenger, but the basic facts appear as follows (more info is easy to find on the internet if anyone is interested):
The USA gives tax breaks to companies selling products outside the USA. The EU viewed this as an illegal export subsidy and complained to the World Trade Organisation, who agreed and told the USA to cease the tax breaks. The WTO then gave permission for the EU to introduce additional duties on certain products to counter the illegal tax subisidies. The EU has stated that they will remove the additional duties once the USA complies, with the USA currently working on changes to the legislation to resolve the issue.
Jon,
Slot City.
I'm not sure as to exactly how much the UK government or UK Customs + Excise have to do with this. It is the EU as a whole that is in dispute with the USA, so I would imagine these additional duties are EU wide, and not something which the UK has much say about.
I'm not saying who is right or wrong in this dispute, so don't shoot the messenger, but the basic facts appear as follows (more info is easy to find on the internet if anyone is interested):
The USA gives tax breaks to companies selling products outside the USA. The EU viewed this as an illegal export subsidy and complained to the World Trade Organisation, who agreed and told the USA to cease the tax breaks. The WTO then gave permission for the EU to introduce additional duties on certain products to counter the illegal tax subisidies. The EU has stated that they will remove the additional duties once the USA complies, with the USA currently working on changes to the legislation to resolve the issue.
Jon,
Slot City.