The World Trade Organization (WTO) has authorized the US to implement Section 301 tariffs on European goods in response to subsidies provided to Airbus. The US has announced a planned effective date of October 18, 2019. The proposed list of goods is divided into 15 sections by country and product; it contains 150 tariff lines found as eight-digit HTS numbers. A 10% duty will be imposed on large civil aircrafts and a 25% duty will be levied on some of Europe’s most iconic foods, beverages, and consumer goods. Examples of impacted products are Irish and Scotch whiskey, French wines, Italian cheeses, Greek yogurt, Spanish olives, and British or German hand tools. The US Trade Representative has said there will be no Section 301 exclusion considerations.
The European Union (EU) brought a similar case against the US for Boeing aircrafts allegedly subsidized by Washington state, and they anticipate a ruling in their favor shortly. However, retaliatory tariffs may come prior to the WTO’s decision. According to Reuters, a European Commission statement said “But if the U.S. decides to impose WTO authorized countermeasures, it will be pushing the EU into a situation where we will have no other option than do the same. ” Both parties have said they wish to negotiate.
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