The United States is allowed to slap $7.5 billion of tariffs on EU imports annually because of the bloc’s illegal subsidies for European aircraft giant Airbus, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced Wednesday.
This was the largest amount of so-called countermeasures that the Geneva-based trade body has ever granted in a trade dispute.
The U.S. signalled that it plans to raise tariffs on aircraft and food products from Europe.
The EU is planning to hit back with retaliatory tariffs, based on the WTO’s previous finding that the U.S. subsidies for Airbus rival, Boeing also violated free trade rules.
But the Geneva-based trade body has yet to announce a dollar sum.
The world’s two biggest aircraft makers have been feuding over state support for more than a dozen years. (dpa/NAN)
