U.S. considers retaliation against EU import duties initiatives

U.S. considers retaliation against EU import duties initiatives    The U.S. government is considering taking retaliatory action against the European Union for two recent import duty-raising initiatives.
   On May 1, as part of its expansion, the EU raised tariffs above bound rates on some imports into the countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Cyprus, and Malta.
   On Sept. 1, the EU changed its rice import regime, raising tariffs on some rice imports above the maximum allowable World Trade Organization duty rate.
   The United States warned that, if these issues are not resolved, it would seek to raise tariffs on select goods primarily supplied by the EU.