According to media sources, the US has widened its threat to impose tariffs against the EU, pending the outcome of a World Trade Organization case over the EU’s subsidies of the airplane manufacturer Airbus SE.
The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) stated on Monday that as part of a long-running Airbus-Boeing dispute over aircraft subsidies it would consider tariffs on an additional 89 items with an annual trade value of $4 billion. The products range from cherries to meat, cheese, olives and pasta, along with some types of whiskey and cast-iron tubes and pipes. It adds to a list of EU products valued at $21 billion that the USTR published in April.
The USTR estimates the EU subsidies to Airbus cause approximately $11 billion in economic harm to the U.S. annually. The EU has a similar case pending against Boeing and has readied $12 billion in retaliatory tariffs of its own. In the press release, the USTR noted that a public hearing on the proposed additional $4 billion worth of products will be held Aug. 5.