Due to a stronger US dollar, the import duty for maize, sorghum and rye in the European Union was lowered to €5.61 per tonne as of 10 October 2017. Triggered by an automatic mechanism that calculates import duties, the updated tariff avoids putting European farmers at a disadvantage in the current market conditions.
The revised tariff, published on 10 October 2017 in the Official Journal, is calculated according to Regulation (EU) No 642/2010, which explains that the import duty for the three cereals is based on the difference between a European reference price and the US maize price.
The tariff for maize, sorghum and rye has already been updated twice in the last two months due to a global record harvest expected for 2016/ 2017 and, at the time, a particularly weak US dollar. It first went up to €5.16 per tonne on 8 August, and was followed by a second rise to €10.95 per tonne on 1 September 2017.
The import duties are now fixed from 10 October 2017, and will apply until a new figure is required and calculated by the automatic mechanism in place.
Source: European Commission
