If you've only got a precious few days left to rule the country, why not take the time to piss off the French?
That seems to be the logic of the Bush administration, who has sparked anger across the Atlantic by tripling the import duty rate on roquefort cheese to 300%, a move which the U.S. hopes will "shut down trade" in the sheep's milk product by making it prohibitively expensive.
The decision, part of Washington's attempts to force the EU into dropping its ban on hormone-treated beef, was greeted with disbelief by the French government and by farmers in the south-western Aveyron region who depend on the industry for their livelihoods.
The tariff on roquefort, condemned as "incomprehensible and inadmissible" by the French government, will probably have a minimal effect, given exports to the U.S. accounts for just 2% of annual sales. French farmers said it would mean "the end" for roquefort in the US and vowed to take "symbolic actions" in return.
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