Believing that the European Union has taken too much taxes on products in the context of the dispute between Boeing and Airbus , administration Trump will impose
additional customs duties on European products, three weeks before the presidential transition.
French and German products, parts aeronautical spare parts, still wines and cognacs… Some products will be subject to higher customs duties to cross the Atlantic, according to a press release published Wednesday evening by the American Trade Representative (USTR), which however does not specify either their amount or when they apply.
European taxes unjust es for the United States
These taxes will be added to those already imposed since 2019 on European imports such as wine, cheese, olive oil or whiskey, as well as on Airbus planes . Washington had been authorized to do so by the World Trade Organization (WTO). And in October, the institution also authorized the EU to apply additional customs duties on products imported from the United States. This is what annoys the United States, which considers that the perimeter chosen by the EU to calculate these punitive taxes leads to too high an amount levied on American products, and considers the situation unfair.
In question, on the one hand the reference period, on the other hand, the geographical perimeter. Thus, “to implement its tariffs, the EU used trade data from a period in which trade volumes had been drastically reduced due to the terrible effects on the global economy of Covid – 19 ”, denounces the USTR. “The result of this choice was that Europe imposed tariffs on many more products than what would have been covered if it had used a normal period. Although the United States explained to the EU the distorting effect of the chosen period, the EU refused to change its approach, ”the statement further emphasizes.
A battle between Airbus and Boeing
The United States thus announced “to change their reference period to align with that used by the European Union”. Moreover, deplores Washington, “the EU has made another choice which has unfairly increased the amount” of customs duties levied, by excluding the United Kingdom from its calculation, and considers that “the EU must take measures to compensate for this injustice. ”
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and its American competitor Boeing, and through them the European Union and the United States, have been clashing since October 310 before the WTO on public aid paid to the two groups, deemed illegal. It is the longest and most complicated trade dispute dealt with by the WTO. The United States was allowed in October 2004 to impose taxes on almost 7, 5 billion dollars (6.8 billion euros) of European goods and services imported each year, the heaviest sanction ever imposed by the WTO.
The additional GAFA tax
Washington has been imposing since certain products imported from the European Union up to 25 %, 10% for Airbus aircraft. In retaliation, the EU has imposed tariffs on US $ 4 billion of US exports since early November. Boeing planes are taxed at 15%, agricultural products (tobacco, sweet potatoes, wheat, fruits, etc.), agrifood products (strong alcohol, chocolate, etc.), or manufactured products (tractors, excavators, bicycle parts, etc.), are available at 25%.
Another conflict, that of the French tax on digital giants , is superimposed on this one, leaving for more than a year the threat of tariffs of 30% on certain French products, such as cheeses, beauty products or handbags. France confirmed in November that it would indeed levy 2019 its tax on “Gafa” (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple), exposing itself to Washington to carry out its threat, which concerns $ 1.3 billion in French products. The Franco-American truce concluded in January 2019, which provided for France to suspend its levy and that United States refrains from sanctions, expires January 6.
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The United States thus announced “to change their reference period to align with that used by the European Union”. Moreover, deplores Washington, “the EU has made another choice which has unfairly increased the amount” of customs duties levied, by excluding the United Kingdom from its calculation, and considers that “the EU must take measures to compensate for this injustice. ”
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and its American competitor Boeing, and through them the European Union and the United States, have been clashing since October 310 before the WTO on public aid paid to the two groups, deemed illegal. It is the longest and most complicated trade dispute dealt with by the WTO. The United States was allowed in October 2004 to impose taxes on almost 7, 5 billion dollars (6.8 billion euros) of European goods and services imported each year, the heaviest sanction ever imposed by the WTO.