State aid for Boeing: EU may impose punitive tariffs on US imports

In the trade dispute over US subsidies for the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the EU is allowed to impose punitive tariffs on the US of almost four billion dollars. The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced in Geneva.

In the year-long dispute between the US and the EU over subsidies for aircraft manufacturers, a decision has been made: The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that the EU may impose punitive tariffs on the US with a volume of around four billion dollars (3.4 billion euros) .

Boeing 139.16

The background to this is a 16-year dispute over subsidies for the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and its European competitor Airbus. The WTO has found government aid for both Airbus and Boeing inadmissible. Last year it therefore allowed the USA to impose punitive tariffs on European goods and services totaling around 7.5 billion euros. Airbus planes are affected, but also wine, cheese and olive oil.

The decision on punitive tariffs in the opposite direction has now been made. The EU has already sent the World Trade Organization a list of proposals stating which US products should be affected. Accordingly, new taxes could soon be due on ketchup and auto parts, for example. Once cleared by the WTO, the punitive tariffs could be raised from October 27th, exactly one week before the US presidential election on November 3rd.

However, it is often expected that the EU will focus more on negotiations with the US side. This is particularly related to the difficult situation of both Airbus and Boeing, among other things because of the Corona crisis. A protracted conflict with reciprocal, increasing punitive tariffs on aircraft would be of no interest to either side.

. (tagsToTranslate) economy (t) Boeing (t) WTO (t) trade disputes (t) Airbus Group