EU Plans To Hit Boeing With Tariffs If US Trade Talks Fail
Negotiations between the EU and US have made scant progress and the expectation is that the bulk of the American tariffs will remain in place.
The European Union will propose tariffs on Boeing Co. aircraft if talks with the US meant to de-escalate the trade conflict fail, according to a person familiar with the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The duties would be part of an EU plan to hit about €100 billion ($114 billion) in US goods with additional tariffs, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. That list of products will be shared with member states this week and could change over the next month during consultations.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm that handles trade matters, has been meeting with US officials ever since President Donald Trump announced last month a 20% universal tariff — reduced to 10% until July — on nearly all EU exports. He also imposed a 25% levy on cars and metals.
A commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plans.
Negotiations between the EU and US have made scant progress and the expectation is that the bulk of the American tariffs will remain in place. The EU said on Tuesday that Trump’s ongoing trade investigations will boost the amount of the bloc’s goods facing tariffs to €549 billion, or 97% of the total.
The commission is expected to share a paper with the US this week to try to kick-start negotiations with Washington, Bloomberg reported earlier. Proposals from the EU are expected to include lowering trade and non-tariff barriers and boosting investments in the US.
The Financial Times reported the commission plan earlier.
Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury earlier this week advocated that the EU impose tariffs on Boeing if negotiations fail to remove duties hurting the aerospace industry. The US manufacturer is a major exporter to Europe, and would stand to feel the bulk of any tariffs imposed on American-made planes.
“Europe is in negotiations, and if these negotiations do not lead to a positive outcome, I imagine that — and this is what we hope for — reciprocal tariffs on aircrafts will be imposed,” he told reporters at an event in Paris.
