U.S increases tariffs on EU imported aircraft to 15% from the previously levied 10%

In its announcement on Friday, the U.S government declared that EU imported aircraft will now be subject to increased tariffs of 15% from the previously levied 10%. Trump Administration has been in a battle with the EU over unfair subsidies to the world’s largest airplane manufacturer since 2019.

The USTR (U.S Trade Representative) also commented on Friday that the United States is willing to settle with the European Union if a negotiated deal is reached in the upcoming months. In an event that the EU retaliates with punitive tariffs on the U.S goods, however, the United States, he added, can be expected to repeat a similar move in the future as well.

U.S Didn’t Increase Tariffs On Non-Aircraft Products Imported From The EU

The USTR’s statement on Friday also highlighted that the previously imposed 25% tariffs on other non-aircraft products imported from the EU including cheese and wine are likely to see minor tweaks in the upcoming months. One such modification, the USTR quoted, would be the removal of heightened tariffs from prune juice. The U.S had threatened to further increase tariffs on such products but as of Friday, such plans have still not been implemented.

The higher tariffs announced on Friday will be levied on the EU aircraft from March 18^th.

European aerospace group Airbus responded with a statement on Saturday that expressed the group’s disappointment in the White House’s decision. It also accentuated that the increased tariffs are likely to pose a new challenge for U.S airlines and subsequently, hurt their customers.

Airbus, however, expressed confidence that Washington may consider reverting its decision in May or June as Airbus received formal approval from the World Trade Organization to retaliate with higher tariffs on Boeing’s 787, 737 Max, and 777 jetliners.

Airbus Defense Unit To Opt For Job Cuts In The Upcoming Months

In separate news, Airbus’ defense business head also announced recently that he plans on holding discussions with labor representatives in the upcoming week in order to move forward with the job cut strategy that is directed to offset the A400M military transporter driven offset.

At the time of writing, Airbus is trading at around €130 in the stock market that marks just over 2% loss in 2020 so far. Airbus’ performance in 2019, however, remained largely upbeat. The stock opened at around €85 per share in January 2019 but closed the year significantly higher at around €133 that marked an over 50% annual growth for the European airplane manufacturer.