Dimitris Kouimtsidis
THE US has been considering imposing extra tariffs on goods from Spain and the UK.
The US is studying the possibility of slapping additional tariffs worth €2.75 billion on goods from Spain, the UK, France and Germany.
According to Bloomberg, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said it is considering an ‘additional list’ of products to be placed with duties of up to 100%.
The goods include olives, coffee, chocolate, beer, gin, as well as some trucks and machinery.
The potential enforcement of these tariffs is open to public comment until July 26.
The move is part of a wider reaction from the US in relation to a long-standing dispute with the EU over subsidies to large civil aircraft manufacturers.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in October 2019 that Spain, Germany, France and the UK granted illegal subsidies to Airbus and allowed the US to impose €6.68 billion in duties as a result.
In December, the WTO ruled once again that the EU had not ended these illegal subsidies, giving the US further room to impose new levies on European products.
It is thought that the implementation of said tariffs will exacerbate tensions between the two sides even further.
This comes after the US barred Europeans from entering the country at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, without any notice given.
The EU is now considering a reciprocal move and may not allow US travellers to enter once the Union opens its borders on July 1.
