According to a report on the US “Wall Street Journal” website on November 9th, senior EU trade officials said that the EU will imposes additional tariffs on Boeing aircraft and other US goods worth US$3.99 billion each year, which increases the risk of the two sides falling into a protracted trade war. The EU’s move was approved by the World Trade Organization last month.
According to the report, 13 months ago, the WTO allowed the United States to imposes additional tariffs on Airbus aircraft worth 7.5 billion US dollars and other goods imported from Europe. This is also the largest arbitration award in the history of the WTO.
The report pointed out that Europe’s retaliation is essentially retaliatory. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday that he hopes this will help end the dispute. “I think we are very clear on all occasions. He said that we are more willing to resolve disputes through negotiations. Therefore, once the United States is willing to abandon tariffs, we are also willing to abandon our tariffs.”
Both the United States and Europe expressed their desire to amend the global rules involving jetliner research and development subsidies, but there are differences in terms of negotiation. At the same time, the lawsuits filed by the two sides in the WTO are also advancing with difficulty. The WTO ruling last month ended the proceedings.
According to reports, the WTO ruling in favor of the EU was made on October 13. After that, the EU postponed the time to impose tariffs and decided to wait until the US general election before proceeding with related matters. EU trade officials hope that pressure from industries affected by tariffs can help push the two sides to make progress before the inauguration day of the US president.
An EU official said that a 15% tariff will be imposed on all types of Boeing aircraft imported by the EU. Other commodities will be levied 25% tariffs. These American commodities include tobacco, nuts, spirits, sauces, soups and syrups, motorized loaders, tractors and protein.
The report concluded that the protracted jetliner dispute was just one of several trade conflicts that strained transatlantic relations during Trump’s administration, although the Boeing-Airbus dispute dates back nearly 20 years.
