WASHINGTON: The United States is considering levying taxes on an additional US$3.1 billion (RM13.25 billion) in European imports amid a dispute over subsidies to planemaker Airbus.
A document released on Tuesday from the US Trade Representative (USTR) listed products from France, Germany, Spain or Britain, ranging from olives to decaffeinated coffee, as possibly subject to the new tariffs.
Washington and Brussels have been squabbling for years over government subsidies to Airbus, with US President Donald Trump's administration imposing US$7.5 billion in punitive tariffs with the authorization of the World Trade Organization.
The EU has threatened its own tariffs on Boeing, but in an April letter to USTR Robert Lighthizer, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said he saw the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to defuse the tensions.
Trump, who faces a tough re-election battle in November, took office promising to close the yawning US trade deficit with the rest of the world.
The skirmishes with Europe began when Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU.
Brussels shot back by taxing iconic US products, including denim jeans and motorcycles.
Trump has also threatened duties on European cars, which is of particular concern to Germany.
He has so far backed down under the pressure from US lawmakers, but raised the idea again earlier this month as possible retaliation for EU duties on imported lobster.
In another development, trade minister Liz Truss said Britain has no deadline to strike a trade deal with the US, criticising the US administration for talking a good game on free trade while restricting import access.
Britain left the EU earlier this year and is now in the process of negotiating bilateral trade deals with major partners like the US – something the government has cited as a major benefit of leaving the EU.
"We're not going to rush into a deal and there is no deadline. We will be tough in pressing our interests," Truss told a parliamentary committee in London.
"The US talk a good game about free trade and low tariffs. But the reality is that many UK products have been kept unfairly out of their markets," she added.
Earlier, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said talks were continuing at a good pace and that the current round was due to end this week. Truss said she expected a couple of chapters of the deal to be finalised during the next round, but did not specify which.
Nevertheless, she struck a combative tone, citing US tariffs on British steel, the threat of further tariffs on cars and US-centric procurement schemes which restrict access to government contracts. She said a US ban on lamb exports amounted to protectionism.
"Let me be clear. I am not going to strike a trade deal with the US, unless all these points are dealt with," she said. "No deal is better than a bad deal." – Reuters
