Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has reiterated his calls for a negotiated settlement to the long-running Transatlantic subsidies dispute as the US government places further tariffs on aerospace products from the EU.
Fuselage loading at Hamburg for the 50th made-in-America A320 Family jetliner. Credit: Airbus
The fuselage for Airbus’ 50th A320 Family jetliner is loaded onto a sea-going ship at Hamburg, Germany to be assembled at Mobile, Alabama in the US. Credit: Airbus.
Speaking as Airbus revealed its full 2020 order and delivery performance, Faury described the Trump administration's continued antagonistic stance as "unhelpful", which is only compounded by the further broadening of tariffs and reiterated calls he made last month for compromise.
The additional tariffs are to be applied by the US Trade Representative from today and cover aerospace products such as fuselages and sections of fuselages, as well as wings and wing assemblies that are not made with exterior carbon composite structures.
Read more: $4bn EU tariffs on US products to come into effect
Not included in the new raft of tariffs are imports of subassemblies that are unattached to wings or fuselages, such as elevators, flaps and rudders.
Airbus ships its fuselages, wings and other sections for the A320neo family from sites in Europe to the US where they are assembled at its facility in Mobile, Alabama.
The World Trade Organization has authorised the US and the EU to impose tariffs-based countermeasures on the other - for $7.4 billion (€6.17 billion) and $4 billion (€3.29 billion) respectively.
The latest round of tariffs come after the US Trade Representative expressed his irritation with the way the EU has calculated its tariffs on US goods, arguing that a distorted timescale was used which failed to account for US exports to the UK, which was in the process of withdrawing its membership from the bloc.
The dispute began in 2004 when George W Bush was US president. However, it continued under Barack Obama's two terms and under Donald Trump, it changed from a legal argument into one with real financial consequences.
Read more: US offers EU a resolution for Boeing-Airbus trade war
While President-elect Joe Biden may represent a more business-as-usual approach, few are expecting to see much from the incoming administration in terms of concessions. Neither of the men who served as US Trade Representative during the Obama presidency adopted a more conciliatory tone to the issue with one, Ron Kirk, saying there was "simply no justification" for Airbus subsidies and the other, Michael Froman, saying the US would "not tolerate" the EU "ignoring the rules".
Joe Biden has appointed lawyer and international trade specialist Katherine Tai to fill the role that will soon be vacated by Trump nominee Robert Lighthizer. Tai's previous roles include litigation of US disputes against China at the WTO.
She is facing a different situation in the long-running Airbus-Boeing dispute to any of her predecessors, however. If the two sides are to avoid a protracted trade war of tariffs and counter-tariffs, then a willingness to negotiate is necessary in order to establish a mutually-acceptable fair competition framework.
While observers believe the US is unlikely to back away from a 16-year-old fight simply to appear more moderate in the wake of four years of Donald Trump, many believe the fact that both sides are prepared to address the main points behind the dispute - tax breaks and aid - suggests that an agreement is possible despite this latest development.
Read more: Airbus unveils plans for zero-emission hydrogen-powered jets
The UK, now it has officially left the European Union, will be dealing with the US on its terms and began its suspension of tariffs on Boeing aircraft last month.
The US Trade Representative's office said that the UK would be unable to impose them anyway, because the case for subsidies brought against Boeing was made through the EU.
“We reserve the right to apply independent retaliatory tariffs if sufficient progress is not made in negotiations,” the UK government counters. “We will not hesitate to exercise our WTO rights in the interest of protecting British businesses and industry.
“As an independent trading nation, we have the ability to shape these tariffs to our interests and our economy, and to stand up for UK business.”
Nonetheless, the government said that it was serious about deescalating the conflict and finding a "swift and balanced settlement".
Back to Homepage
Back to Aerospace & Defence