Washington, DC – Today, as required by U.S. law, the United States Trade Representative is issuing a modification to the list of products subject to WTO-authorized additional duties in the United States’ successful WTO challenge to subsidies for large civil aircraft provided by the European Union, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. USTR is removing from the tariff list certain products from Greece and the United Kingdom and adding an equivalent amount of trade from France and Germany. The changes are modest; the amount of products subject to countermeasures will remain unchanged at $7.5 billion and the tariff rates will remain unchanged at 15% for aircraft and 25% for all other products.
“The EU and member states have not taken the actions necessary to come into compliance with WTO decisions,” Ambassador Robert Lighthizer stated. “The United States, however, is committed to obtaining a long-term resolution to this dispute. Accordingly, the United States will begin a new process with the EU in an effort to reach an agreement that will remedy the conduct that harmed the U.S. aviation industry and workers and will ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies. ”
The modifications announced today will take effect on Sept. 1, 2020.
BACKGROUND
In October 2019, the WTO authorized the United States to take $7.5 billion in countermeasures following the largest victory in WTO history in the long-running dispute against the EU, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom regarding their illegal subsidies for the Airbus consortium. Following a notice and comment process, on October 9, 2019, the United States imposed additional tariffs of up to 25 percent on products of current and former EU member states with a trade value of approximately $7.5 billion. The section 301 statute provides for periodic review and modification of the tariff action. A prior revision was made in February 2020.
The details of the modification are set out in a Notice that will be published in the Federal Register.
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