The Trump administration moved Monday toward imposing tariffs on about $11 billion in imports from the European Union, saying the move was justified by the bloc’s subsidies for European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
The US has been in litigation at the World Trade Organization over Airbus subsidies since 2004, and said it was releasing a list of items proposed for tariffs in anticipation of a ruling soon from the WTO.
“This case has been in litigation for 14 years, and the time has come for action,” said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “Our ultimate goal is to reach an agreement with the EU to end all WTO-inconsistent subsidies to large civil aircraft. When the EU ends these harmful subsidies, the additional US duties imposed in response can be lifted.”
Though the tariffs are in response to the WTO case, the move is sure to ratchet up tensions between Washington and Brussels, where negotiators have struggled for nearly a year to make progress on proposed trade talks.
As the first step in the process for the US to impose tariffs, Monday’s announcement from the Office of the US Trade Representative lists items that could be subjected to tariffs after a period for public comment and for the two sides to negotiate.
The proposed list contains a number of civil aviation products, including Airbus aircraft, the USTR said. It also includes a range of nonaviation items, from cheese to bicycles to kitchen knives to artists’ brushes.