Brussels faces legal action over tariffs

The US and Japan took legal action at the World Trade Organisation on the 28 May 2008 to force the European Union to scrap tariffs on high-technology goods. If successful, thousands of jobs in poorer EU countries would be under threat. US and Japanese companies often finish assembling high-tech products inside the EU to avoid the tariffs. If these end, the jobs would be likely to move elsewhere.

WTO: Trade Topics: Information Technology Agreement http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/inftec_e/inftec_e.htm

European Commission: DG Trade: Press Release, 28.05.08: EU Rejects US claims over technology tariffs http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2008/may/tradoc_138969.pdf

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