Europeans Retaliate for U.S. Pasta Tax : ‘Pasta War’ Heats Up: Nuts, Lemons Curbed

The transatlantic “pasta war” flared again today when the European Community, retaliating against a newly imposed, prohibitive U.S. tariff on pasta imports from Europe, ordered high duties on imports of U.S. lemons and walnuts.

“I deeply deplore the American decision to tax heavily imports of pasta from the community,” said a statement issued by Willy de Cler, Community commissioner for external relations.

“This amounts to a virtual embargo which severely hits a community industry that is particularly important for one member state--Italy,” he said.

The trade dispute came to a head Thursday when the United States raised import duties on pasta from less than 1% to 25% for pasta made with eggs and 40% on pasta without eggs. (Story, Page 4.)

The community retaliated today by raising customs duties on U.S. lemons from 8% to 20% and on walnuts from 8% to 30%.

‘Tense Trade Situation’

“The United States has taken the responsibility for triggering a process which unduly aggravates an already tense trade situation,” De Cler said today. “This escalation makes no sense. It can only hurt the two parties.”

In Washington, however, U.S. trade representative Clayton Yeutter blamed the European Community for the renewed conflict.

“We agreed to suspend our pasta duty increase (last June) in response to a commitment by the European Community to resolve this dispute by Oct. 31,” he said in a formal statement. “Regrettably, the EC did not table a negotiating proposal until today, and that was clearly inadequate.”

The United States is angered by the European Community’s preferential treatment of citrus imports from Mediterranean countries, which Washington contends has severely curtailed U.S. citrus exports to Europe.