New York, 10 February 2021 (AFP) – French President Emmanuel Macron proposes to US President Joe Biden to negotiate an agreement to settle a long-running commercial dispute between Boeing and Airbus, media reported Wednesday ( 10) reported on.
Macron talked about the idea during a phone call with Biden on January 24, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the conversation.
As reported, Biden replied that his administration would monitor the situation, but “is not committed to the outcome,” CNBC said.
Official reports of calls from the US and French governments did not mention the aerospace issue, and US officials did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
The United States and the European Union have differed on allegedly unfair commercial practices since 2004, with both sides claiming to provide support to other private companies that violate international trade agreements.
Both sides obtained judgments from the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowing punitive tariffs.
The US Trade Representative announced new tariffs on aircraft parts, wines and cognac in December, which would add them to the long list of products from European Union countries, which are subject to 25% tariffs from 2019.
For its part, the European Commission said in response to the measure, “It is with regret that the United States has chosen to add EU products to its retaliation list in the WTO Airbus case on aircraft subsidies”.
Following a WTO decision in October, the European Union imposed an additional US $ 4 billion in customs duties in November, including Boeing aircraft and agricultural products such as wheat and tobacco, as well as fortified wine and chocolate.
jmb / cs / mls / mps / mr
