New round of trade talks: US threatens tariffs on European products

"The World Trade Organization estimates that EU subsidies to Airbus have had a negative impact on the United States, which will now impose tariffs of $ 11,000 million on products. from the EU! " for many years, it will be over soon! " tweeted the president of the United States, Donald Trump.

For more than 14 years, the United States and Europe have accused each other of unfairly subsidizing Boeing and Airbus, respectively.

In a statement, the US Trade Representative's Office (USTR) said the World organization of commerce (WTO) has repeatedly concluded that European subsidies to Airbus have caused damage to the United States.

"The WTO has repeatedly concluded that the European Union's aid has caused damage to the United States", the representative wrote Robert Lighthizer. "This case has been in dispute for 14 years and the time has come to act"he said.

"Our goal is to reach an agreement with the EU to end all WTO-inconsistent subsidies for civil aircraft.When the EU will end these harmful subsidies, the increases in tariffs may be waived "he explained.

USTR estimates European subsidies to Airbus "penalize" in the United States in about $ 11 billion a yearor, adds the statement.

The list contains aerospace products, but also includes foods such as salmon, cheeses, fruits, olive oil and wines "

Lighthizer has published a preliminary list of European products that may be subject to additional customs fees.

The total amount of retaliation "must be decided by the WTO" this summer, said the USTR, who said he was ready for"to act as soon as the WTO will have made its decision"but also to raise its retaliatory measures if the European Union reacts.

The 14-page list contains, among other things, aerospace products, including Airbus.

It also includes foods such as salmon, cheeses, fruits, olive oil and wines, as well as clothing.

The Boeing-Airbus dispute is the longest and most complex dispute with which the WTO is negotiating, which seeks to create a level playing field for world trade.

Airbus and Boeing have both won.

In March 2012, the WTO ruled that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and asked the United States to remove them.

But months later, the European Union made another request, claiming that Washington was not complying with the order.

In June 2017, the WTO declared that the United States had partially complied with it, but agreed with Brussels that it had failed. "withdraw subsidies" in the case of the state of Washington.

The United States and the European Union have appealed this verdict to the WTO Appellate Body, which last month reiterated the conclusions of 2017 but seems to have strengthened its position vis-à-vis the United States.

The EU has also been warned by the WTO during the conflict between Boeing and Airbus and the US have asked the agency to determine to what extent it could impose sanctions on the EU. European Union not to remove subsidies.