Airbus – Boeing dispute, US suspends tariffs on U.K. goods for four months

The U.S. has suspended retaliatory tariffs on U.K. products caught up in 16 year dispute over illegal aid to Boeing and Airbus.

The UK and the US have reached a four month tariff suspension pact to “ease the burden on industry and take a bold, joint step towards resolving the longest running disputes at the World Trade Organization.”

The UK government ceased applying retaliatory tariffs in the Boeing dispute from January 1, 2021 to de-escalate the issue and create space for a negotiated settlement to the Airbus and Boeing disputes.

The move was slammed by Alyn and Deeside politicians Jack Sargeant MS and Mark Tami MP who said the decision “effectively favours the American aerospace industry over UK manufacturers like Airbus.”

They see it as “another failure of the UK Government to support UK aerospace and jobs in Alyn and Deeside.

The US has now suspend retaliatory tariffs in the Airbus dispute from today, March 4, 2021, for four months.

“This will allow time to focus on negotiating a balanced settlement to the disputes, and begin seriously addressing the challenges posed by new entrants to the civil aviation market from non-market economies, such as China.” The UK government has said.

“This will benefit a wide range of industries on both sides of the Atlantic, and allow for focused settlement negotiations to ensure that our aerospace industries can finally see a resolution and focus on COVID recovery and other shared goals.” A joint US and UK government statement adds.

Mark Tami has welcomed this “small but welcome decision from the new US administration that inches us closer to a deal on the complex Boeing-Airbus dispute which has been going on for over a decade.”