I normally try not to inject politics into my daily business, but this story affects my business so I will lay out a rant.
Last week ex-President Bush raised the import tariff on Roquefort cheese by 300%, that is on top of the already onerous 100% tariff that is on it already. The official spin is that this is in retaliation for the European Union not allowing the importation of US beef due to reported mad cow outbreaks and some of its members stands on the Iraqi War. What ever the reason is for this lunacy it seems odd to me (call me crazy) that only one French cheese would be singled out.
Roquefort is an AOC (Appellation D'Origne) cheese meaning that it must be in compliance with all the legal regulations concerning where and how a cheese is made. This designation is strictly enforced. What this all means is that real French Roquefort cheese can only be produced in the area around the small town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon and the caves of Cambalou.
The US market consumes a majority of the Roquefort that is produced and this in turn helps to employ the local population in various stages of cheese production. The increase in the import tariff will devastate this regional economy because the price to the American consumer will go through the roof. Estimates state the price in US dollars could approach $100 per pound. Who will be willing to plunk down their dollars for Roquefort when other blue cheeses are available.
You as a consumer may say who cares about Roquefort or the French but please consider the workers who produce this wonderful cheese their livelihoods depend on it. This is a global economy, for better or worse, and the actions of one country can have profound consequences on many other people, countries and economies.
President Obama has the ability to rescind this new tariff and should be encouraged to do so for economic reasons and moral reasons. No one should have to suffer because of ill will, retribution
or reckless planning. In these rough economic times President Obama has many larger and more profound problems to deal with in the days and months ahead but revoking this tariff could be his first show of good will and it could be accomplished with a mere stroke of his pen. Here's hoping that common sense will prevail.
Last week ex-President Bush raised the import tariff on Roquefort cheese by 300%, that is on top of the already onerous 100% tariff that is on it already. The official spin is that this is in retaliation for the European Union not allowing the importation of US beef due to reported mad cow outbreaks and some of its members stands on the Iraqi War. What ever the reason is for this lunacy it seems odd to me (call me crazy) that only one French cheese would be singled out.
Roquefort is an AOC (Appellation D'Origne) cheese meaning that it must be in compliance with all the legal regulations concerning where and how a cheese is made. This designation is strictly enforced. What this all means is that real French Roquefort cheese can only be produced in the area around the small town of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon and the caves of Cambalou.
The US market consumes a majority of the Roquefort that is produced and this in turn helps to employ the local population in various stages of cheese production. The increase in the import tariff will devastate this regional economy because the price to the American consumer will go through the roof. Estimates state the price in US dollars could approach $100 per pound. Who will be willing to plunk down their dollars for Roquefort when other blue cheeses are available.
You as a consumer may say who cares about Roquefort or the French but please consider the workers who produce this wonderful cheese their livelihoods depend on it. This is a global economy, for better or worse, and the actions of one country can have profound consequences on many other people, countries and economies.
President Obama has the ability to rescind this new tariff and should be encouraged to do so for economic reasons and moral reasons. No one should have to suffer because of ill will, retribution
or reckless planning. In these rough economic times President Obama has many larger and more profound problems to deal with in the days and months ahead but revoking this tariff could be his first show of good will and it could be accomplished with a mere stroke of his pen. Here's hoping that common sense will prevail.
The greatest importer of Roquefort cheese is Spain. The US only imports 1% to 2 % of total production (far from the majority claimed above). So this will not devastate the Roquefort economy. We should not react to support that region: they don't need us. It will lower their profit a bit but not much. Maybe we are the ones who need them though.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad for us in the U.S. Europe bans hormone and antibiotic fed beef and we ban a cheese produced in the most ancient tradition. What kind of message does that send? We don't spend money on quality food and our consumers are not protected: we have antibiotics and hormones in most meats, chemical preservatives in bread and nearly everything we eat, bromated flour (which is banned in a lot of countries but not here, it is not even labeled on flour packages or listed in the ingredients), we put artificial sweeteners instead of decreasing sugar content .... where are we heading?
Well said and I agree with most of your points about the American consumer. It is sad that we have been dummbed down on just about everything regarding our food and environment. We are kept on the treadmill so that all we can do is continue to consume!
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