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1 1 (December 15, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdczn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: December 15, 2020 U.S. Trade Concerns Regarding the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy In May 2020, the European Union (EU) proposed its Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy and its Biodiversity Strategy, which would impose restrictions on EU agriculture through targeted reductions in the use of land, antimicrobials, fertilizers, and pesticides. These strategies are part of the European Green Deal, which if adopted by the EU, would make the continent climate-neutral by 2050. U.S. officials contend that these proposed strategies could extend beyond the EU and result in additionalrestrictions on U.S. food and agricultural exports to the EU. They contend that the F2F's focus on specific agricultural practices and promotionoflocalproductionis protectionist and could impact U.S.-EU trade relations. Strategies underlying the European Green Deal come at a contentious time in U.S.-EU agricultural trade relations. In November 2020, the EU imposed additional tariffs on approximately $4.0 billion worth ofEU imports annually fromthe United States, covering a range of agricultural and industrial products. Higher EU tariffs were in retaliation for higher U.S. tariffs imposed on certain EUproducts in 2019. Both the U.S. and EU tariff actions were in response to the Boeing -Airbus subsidy dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and were approved by the WTO. U.A A ricukLtral T rade Overvew The United States and EU are the world's largesttradeand investment partners. However, while food and agricultural trade between the United States and the EU27 (excluding the United Kingdom) accounts for less than 1% of the value of overall U.S.-EU27 trade in totalgoods and services, the EU27 remains a large market forU.S. agriculturalexports. It accounted for about8% of the value ofallU.S. agricultural and related product exports and ranked as the fifth largest market forU.S. exports of theseproducts in 2019, after Canada, Mexico, China, and Japan. Currently, a sizable imbalance exists in terms of the value of agriculturaltrade betweenthe United States and the EU27. In 2019, U.S. agricultural andrelated product exports to the EU27 totaled $12.4 billion, and U.S. agricultural and related product imports fromthe EU27 totaled $29.7 billion, resulting in a U.S. trade deficit of approximately $17.3 billion. This is the reverse of U.S. agricultural trade surpluses with the EU27 during the 1990s (Figure 1). Leading U.S. agricultural exports to the EU27 in 2019 were corn and soybeans, tree nuts, distilled spirits, wine and beer, and fish products. Leading U.S. agricultural imports from the EU27 were distilled spirits, wine and beer, olive oil, and cheese. The European Green Deal, launched in December 2019, provides an action plan th at s tates, among other goals, the EU's intention ofworking with international partners to improve global environmental standards.Its goals include promoting efficient res ource us e; restoring biodiversity; and reducing environmental pollution throughresearch, investment, data and technology, and advisory services. There are efforts in the EU to amend existing law to turn this politicalcommitmentinto a legal obligation. Figure I. U.S.-EU27 Agricultural Trade, 1991-2019 s,.n / Source: CRS from U.S. Department of AgriculItu re data for Total Agricultu ral an d Related Prod ucts (BICO-H S6). E U27 exclud es UK. Central to the European Green Deal is the F2F Strateg y. F2F is promoted as a new comprehensive approach to how Europeansvaluefoodsustainability focused on environmental, health and social benefits,as wellas ensuring asustainable livelihoodforprimary producers. Its goals include ensuring sustainable food production acros s the supply ch ain; ensuring foo d s ecurity ;facilitating the shift to healthy, sustainable diets; reducing food loss and waste; and combating food fraud. A key F2F goalis to promote a global transition to sus tainable agri-foo ds ystems in line with the EU's overall objectives. The EU seeks to require increasingly sustainable practices by our trading partners. As stated in F2F, EU trade policy should contribute to enhance cooperation with and to obtain ambitious commitments from third countries in key areas s uch as animal welfare, the use of pesticides and the fight ag ainst antimicrobial res istance. In addition, the EU will s trive to promote international s tandards in the relevant international bodies and encourage the production of agri-food products complying with high s afety and sustainability s tandards, along with meeting other go als, including to support s mall-s cale farmers and reduce food waste. F2F further s tates that the EU will consider extending mand atory origin or provenance indications to certain pro ducts. U.S. officials are concerned that foods imported into the EU may need to conformto these production and labeling standards. The EU's F2F and Biodiversity Strategies propose 2030 targeted reductions in the use of land and chemical input, including those shown in the following shaded text box \ Q xa S \\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \

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