US imposing tariffs on $7.5 billion in EU goods

The United States is imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of aircraft, food products, and other goods being imported from the European Union (EU) in a dispute involving the bloc’s subsidies to the plane maker Airbus.

The administration of US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that it would slap tariffs on $7.5 billion in EU imports beginning October 18 in retaliation for the “illegal” aid that the bloc gave to Airbus in its competition with its American rival Boeing.

According to a list released by the US Trade Representative’s Office, Washington will levy a 10-percent tariff on large civil aircraft from the UK, France, Germany, and Spain. It will also impose 25-percent tariffs on hundreds of other items, including olives, cheese, pork products, butter, and yogurt from various EU nations.

The office also said that the US had requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) meet on October 14 to formally authorize the tariffs, and the duties would then take effect in four days.

It also said that it would “continually re-evaluate these tariffs based on our discussions with the EU” and that it expected to enter talks with the EU in a bid to resolve disagreements.

The new US tariffs are intended to pressure the bloc into dropping its subsidies for Airbus. Brussels has warned of retaliation against the new tariffs.

The announcement came shortly after the WTO ruled that the US was entitled to impose such duties in retaliation for the EU’s aid to the European multinational aerospace corporation. The WTO has for several times ruled that Airbus unfairly received launch aid loans and other trade-distorting subsidies for two of its models, namely the A380 and A350WXB.

“Finally, after 15 years of litigation, the WTO has confirmed that the United States is entitled to impose countermeasures in response to the EU’s illegal subsidies,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We expect to enter into negotiations with the European Union aimed at resolving this issue in a way that will benefit American workers,” he added.

Trump has called the WTO’s ruling a “big win” for his country.

SS