EU says main objective of its measures is to persuade US to negotiate solution
Brussels / Berlin:
The European Union will “unfortunately” impose tariffs on imports of $ 4 billion of US goods from Tuesday, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said, while hoping President-elect Joe Biden will favor a clear cut. improvement of transatlantic relations.
The bloc will exercise the right to countermeasures granted to it last month by the World Trade Organization in a case against US manufacturer Boeing, in a long-standing battle between the United States and the ‘EU on Civil Aviation Subsidies.
“We have made it clear at every step that we want to address this long-standing problem,” Dombrovskis said at a press conference after an online meeting of EU trade ministers on Monday.
However, he said the bloc would impose tariffs on U.S. exports of planes and parts and a range of agricultural and industrial goods from Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts (and) due to the lack of progress on the American side, we can confirm that the European Union will exercise our rights later today and impose countermeasures that the WTO has granted us to with regard to Boeing, ”he said.
US tariffs on $ 7.5 billion of EU products after parallel WTO proceedings against Airbus have been in place for more than a year.
The European Union says the main goal of its own measures is to persuade the United States to negotiate a solution, arguing that the main beneficiaries of the 16-year-old dispute are competitors, like China’s COMAC.
Dombrovskis said EU tariffs would mirror those set by the United States in the case of Airbus, such as 15% for airplanes and 25% for agricultural and industrial products.
However, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer warned last month that any EU action “would force a US response,” while Donald Trump, who remains US president until January 20, threatened to “fight back harder”.
Washington could, for example, choose to raise its tariffs on EU cheese, olives and whiskey to 100%. He argues that there is no legal basis for the EU measures because the underlying subsidies to Boeing have been repealed.
“GREAT EXPECTATIONS” FOR SUBMISSION
The EU dispute and complaints over US tariffs on EU steel and aluminum should be transferred to the office of the next president.
Dombrovskis reiterated an offer from the EU that the bloc would suspend its measures if the United States did the same, but said Washington had not agreed to do so so far.
“We are ready to withdraw or suspend our tariffs at any time when the United States is ready to do so, whether under the current administration or under the next administration,” he said.
German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said at the same press conference that many EU countries saw Biden’s election victory as a chance for improvement.
“We will try to revive trade policy between the United States and all member states,” said Altmaier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. He added that Europe’s goal was to find common ground with the future Biden administration, and then reduce overall tariffs as much as possible.
Trump, with whom Europe has had strained relations, has not conceded and is legally challenging the outcome of the November 3 election.
“There are great expectations and hope that the US presidential elections will lead to a return to multilateral engagement in international trade and that it will be possible to overcome past conflicts,” Altmaier said.
Dombrovskis said there was a full list of things to do – from coordinating reform of global trade rules to mainstreaming climate change goals into trade.
He added that the commission, which coordinates the trade policy of the 27 EU countries, had made informal contacts with the Biden team.
“Thus, some initial contacts have been made, among others to discuss trade issues,” he said. “But at the same time, regarding the ongoing issues … we continue to work with the current administration.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
