EU, US to Lift Airbus/Boeing Tariffs for Four Months

Tariffs that the U.S. imposed on billions of dollars' worth of European imports to punish them for excessive subsidies to Airbus, and tariffs that the European Union imposed on billions of dollars' worth of U.S. exports over Boeing subsidies will be lifted for four months, the two sides said in a joint statement March 5. No date was given for the start of the temporary removal.

The U.S. and the EU said that “the suspension will cover all tariffs both on aircraft as well as on non-aircraft products, and will become effective as soon as the internal procedures on both sides are completed.”

The National Association of Beverage Importers welcomed the news. “NABI really hopes that as the four months of negotiations rigorously move forward, that good faith negotiations will lead to good relations and trust that foster the EU to consider suspending the doubling of the steel and aluminum tariffs in June,” NABI President Robert Tobiassen said.

The American Italian Food Coalition’s (AIFC) co-chairs Lou Barletta and Susan Molinari also celebrated the decision in a statement: “We would like to commend the Biden Administration and the European Union for the significant step they took to pause tariffs and work on finding a permanent resolution to the long-standing Airbus-Boeing airline dispute. This issue has impacted industries and nations like Italy that had no part in the disagreement for far too long. Over the next four months, there is a real opportunity for both sides to come together to chart a productive long-term course that further builds on the generations of goodwill that have defined not only the Trans-Atlantic partnership, but the Italian-American alliance as well.”