Scandanavians fight over meat ball tariff. <GG>
JohnG
World: Europe
Ikea chokes on
meatball tariffs
Ikea executives have finally lost their temper with the
Norwegian authorities
The Scandinavian furniture giant Ikea has
sparked off a diplomatic row between Oslo and
Stockholm by complaining about the tariffs
charged on Swedish meatballs.
Each year, Ikea serves up more than 40 tons of
Swedish meatballs and sausages in its shops
in Norway.
It pays the Norwegian authorities an import tariff
on each kilo of $15 - far more than the meat
itself is worth.
The situation has been going on for years, but
now Ikea and the Swedish government have
had enough.
Salmon threat
The company, which has stores all over the
world, has threatened to cancel its annual
purchase of $6m worth of Norwegian salmon in
protest at the high tariffs.
Swedish Trade Minister,
Leif Pagrotsky, has
poured fuel on the
blazing row by accusing
Norway of pursuing
antiquated protectionist
policies and creating a
"grotesque situation".
Norway points out the
tariffs violate no existing
trade agreement, but
Oslo admits its food and
agriculture policies are comparable with those
of Switzerland and Japan, two of the most
protectionist states in the world.
Prices considerably higher in Norway
Sweden's recent decision to join the European
Union has combined with a sluggish economy
to bring down prices sharply while Norway,
which has twice rejected EU membership,
continues to have the highest cost of living in
Europe.
The increasingly disparate prices between
Norway on one side and Sweden, Finland and
Denmark on the other, has led to an increase in
smuggling.
Entrepreneurs and some criminal gangs have
taken to smuggling not just alcohol and tobacco
but also basic foodstuffs into Norway.
Hundreds of Norwegian village shops along the
Swedish border have also been hit as
consumers flock across the frontier for cheaper
produce. |
