The five year suspension of tariffs on Irish dairy products into the US has been lauded by Irish dairy exporter co-op Ornua.
Ornua, which is responsible for 90% of butter exported from the EU into the US, said in a statement that “these punitive tariffs represented an unwelcome and unnecessary barrier to doing business”.
Kerrygold achieved “remarkable growth” in the US in 2020, which was throughout the imposition of tariffs, “due to the change in consumer behaviour as a result of Covid-19”, Ornua said, adding:
“In 2020 Kerrygold became the preferred dairy brand of 10% of US consumers, building on the premium reputation of Irish butter among American consumers.
Commenting on today’s development, John Jordan, CEO Ornua said:
“We welcome today’s decision to prolong the suspension of punitive tariffs on Kerrygold in the US.
“The removal of tariffs represents a unique opportunity for continued growth and further investment in the US market in line with our ambitious growth strategy.
“Kerrygold is currently the No. 2 butter brand with significant opportunity to further grow its market share in a 330 million consumer market,” Jordan concluded.
Earlier today it was announced that the EU and the US have agreed to suspend the application of harmful tariffs worth of US $11.5 billion (€9.5 billion) for a period of five years.
The tariffs – imposed as a consequence of a dispute over illegal subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus – “hurt companies and people on both sides of the Atlantic”, the EU said in a statement today (Tuesday, June 15).