Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice.
This article is taken from our policy coverage dated
29/06/20.
Last week, claims were made that bullfighting in Spain was
partly being funded by money allocated under the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP). An Italian animal rights group claimed
that Spain's bullfighting sector obtains around €571 million from
various national authorities and about €130 million from subsidies
allocated by the EU - essentially through the CAP.
In the US, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR)
proposed on Thursday (June 25th) that an additional $3.1 billion in
products from the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) could
be subject to higher tariffs.
The US was granted permission last year by WTO to impose
retaliatory tariffs targeting up to $7.5 billion in EU and UK goods
in a long-running dispute over EU subsidies to aircraft
manufacturer Airbus. The US proceeded to roll out duties of
10%-25%, with many targeting European food and ag goods including
cheese, vegetables, fresh and frozen fruit, frozen and processed
pork and butter.
Also in the US, it was revealed that nearly 29,000 frontline
union workers have been infected with COVID-19 and 238 have died of
the virus, leading the United Food and Commercial Workers
International Union (UFCW) officials to call for new actions to
protect workers.
"We all know that it's growing in some states, we're witnessing
increases in Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Arizona, South Carolina,"
UFCW President Marc Perrone said during a media briefing last
Thursday (June 25).
In the UK, a study came out stating that a significant number of
British Halal meat-eaters might be persuaded to switch to meat from
stunned animals, if they were reassured that some forms of stunning
are compatible with religious slaughter rules.
The UK may need to adopt the New Zealand model, which has done
just that, researchers from the University of Bristol Veterinary
School said in " The ethics of Halal meat consumption: preferences
of consumers in England according to the method of slaughter."
The Danish Agriculture and Food Council reported that food
exports will fall by up to DKK 9 billion in 2020 as a result of the
corona crisis and it will take a long time for exports to return to
the same level as before the outbreak.
The council said the fall could vary between DKK 4.5 billion to
DKK 9 billion depending on how quickly conditions are normalised.
The most severely affected product groups are pork, beef and
seafood, which according to the two scenarios, will experience a
fall of between DKK 3 billion to DKK 6 billion.
The Romanian cabinet drafted an emergency regulation to scrap
the industry tax imposed on companies from the catering sector for
the 90 days in which they were not able to operate at full capacity
due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The measure was developed in response to the financial woes
experienced by local restaurants, bars, cafés, and other industry
players due to the pandemic. The government decided to draft the
ordinance after the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD)
unveiled its plans to initiate a legislative proposal to provide
financial support to HoReCa businesses, according to the
information obtained by local news agency Agerpres.
Finally, Krzysztof Bosak, an MP for the Polish opposition
Konfederacja (Confederation) party and a candidate in Poland's 28
June presidential election, presented his updated election program
in which he declared he will reduce the value-added tax (VAT) on
food products if elected.
In the course of his presidential campaign, Bosak has positioned
himself as an anti-establishment candidate who has vowed to oppose
the introduction of any new taxes, and reduce the existing
levies.
