EU moves ahead with tariffs on US but hopes for Biden change – By Lorne Cook (AP News) / Nov 9 2020
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union pressed ahead Monday with plans to impose tariffs and other penalties on up to $4 billion worth of U.S. goods and services over illegal American support for plane maker Boeing, but expressed hope that trade ties would improve once President Donald Trump leaves office.
EU trade ministers were discussing the move on a videoconference, after international arbitrators last month gave the EU, the world’s biggest trade bloc, the green light to do so.
A year ago, the World Trade Organization authorized the United States to slap penalties on EU goods worth up to $7.5 billion – including Gouda cheese, single-malt whiskey and French wine – over European support for Boeing rival Airbus.
After Trump also imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum and threatened punitive duties on cars, the Europeans had hoped that he would hold fire on the tariffs related to the Airbus-Boeing dispute. But having repeatedly failed to achieve a negotiated solution, the EU is now ready to announce punishment of its own.
