Geneva (AFP)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) gave Monday its final authorization to Washington to impose customs sanctions against the European Union, in retaliation for subsidies granted to the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
At the beginning of October, the WTO had authorized the imposition of taxes on nearly $ 7.5 billion of European goods and services imported each year, but this decision had to be approved by the World Trade Organization. Dispute Resolution System (ORD).
The sanction - the heaviest ever imposed by the WTO - was officially approved at a special meeting of the DSB Monday in Geneva, according to a trade official.
The United States has announced that new taxes, which could target a wide range of consumer products such as French wines, could come into effect as early as Friday.
EU officials have said they want a negotiated settlement with the US to avoid further escalation of current trade tensions.
If these talks fail, the EU could in turn be allowed to impose customs sanctions on US products if it succeeds in convincing WTO judges next year that US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has also benefited from illegal subsidies from the US government.
The legal battle between Airbus and Boeing at the WTO began 15 years ago when Washington declared a 1992 US-European agreement governing subsidies in the aviation sector obsolete.
The United States fired first in 2004, accusing the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain of granting illegal subsidies to support the production of a series of Airbus products.
A year later, the EU claimed that Boeing had also received billions of dollars in prohibited subsidies from various branches of the US government.
© 2019 AFP