EU-US deal in aircraft spat possible
Washington and Brussels could reach a compromise deal “within weeks” in a long-running trade row pitting US aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing against European rival Airbus, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said Friday.
Earlier in the week the EU slapped tariffs on several US imports as part of the long-running Boeing-Airbus row, despite hopes for a trade truce following Joe Biden’s election.
The decision is the latest twist in the 16-year trade battle over aircraft subsidies that turned increasingly sour under the protectionist leadership of US President Donald Trump. “It is just a very old case, this Airbus-Boeing case. The US administration has decided to hit Europe with sanctions, by a total amount of $7 billion, so we did not have any other choice but to respond to these sanctions,” Le Maire told CNN.
Some had suggested Europe might delay the tit-for-tat levies after the victory of Biden, who is to replace Trump in January and is seen as more sympathetic to Europe and more of a multilateralist on trade. Le Maire insisted Europe’s response was “the normal scenario,” but added that a solution to the row could be near.
“I think that a compromise can be reached in the coming weeks. I think there is the possibility to build an agreement between the US and Europe on this Airbus-Boeing case,” he told the US news channel.
“I don’t underestimate the difficulties of bridging the gap... but I can tell you that we will not spare our efforts to build a compromise, in the interest of both Europe and US,” he added. The aviation feud predates Trump, but his administration embraced the opportunity to impose $7.5 billion in tariffs against European goods after being cleared to do so by the WTO. Washington imposed punitive tariffs of 25% on signature EU products such as wine, cheese and olive oil and put a 15-percent tariff on Airbus planes in March.
The EU sanctions announced on Monday place additional customs duties on $4 billion worth of imports from the United States. These products include Boeing planes but also some farm produces, including wheat and tobacco.
The transatlantic hostilities have continued unabated since 2004, when Washington declared that a 1992 US-EU agreement governing subsidies in the aircraft industry was dead.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2020.
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