London (AFP)

London has reached an agreement with Washington to end the long trade dispute over subsidies granted to Airbus and Boeing, two days after a similar agreement between the EU and the United States.

The agreement provides for a five-year suspension of punitive tariffs, which particularly affected Scotch whiskey, but also cashmere, pork, Stilton cheese, aerospace or cars, according to a statement.

The UK settled the 17-year-old conflict after a meeting in the UK capital between International Trade Minister Lizz Truss and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

London and Washington had already signed a truce earlier this year, giving themselves some time to find a longer-term agreement.

The US tariffs, implemented in October 2019, had notably penalized the Scotch whiskey sector, which estimates it has lost hundreds of millions of pounds in turnover.

The UK hoped that a settlement to this dispute could facilitate talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, which have made little progress.

With the British exit from the single European market, effective since January 1, the United Kingdom has negotiated an agreement with the United States, in parallel with the EU, which also announced on Tuesday the suspension for five years. punitive customs.

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Washington and Brussels have been opposed since 2004 before the World Trade Organization (WTO) on illegal public aid paid to their two aircraft manufacturers.

Under the administration of former President Donald Trump, Washington was authorized by the WTO in October 2019 to impose taxes on nearly 7.5 billion dollars (6.8 billion euros) of goods and services. European imports each year, up to 25% for wines and spirits, and 15% for Airbus planes.

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"This agreement will support employment across the country and is fantastic news for employers such as Scotch whiskey producers and the aerospace industry," Liz Truss said in the statement.

It also "puts an end to a terribly harmful problem and will allow us to take our trade relationship with the United States up a gear, including (...) on the unfair practices of countries like China", continues the minister.

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Ms Truss praised her American counterpart, and this compromise is a further sign of Washington's shift in attitude towards more multilateralism after the Trump years.

The US said the deal "is a big step forward in our special relationship" with the UK, Katherine Tai said in a separate statement, stressing the need "to address common challenges. on China "and to have a beneficial approach to workers.

The Scotch Whiskey Association was delighted with "very good news" after "two years of damage to our industry, the loss of more than 600 million pounds of exports to the United States".

The deal "will allow distillers to strive to recoup (lost) exports to our largest and most valuable foreign market," added Karen Betts, the association's executive director, in a statement.

She observes, however, that "the agreement suspends tariffs more than resolves the original dispute, and it is therefore crucial now that the government and aerospace companies on both sides keep their commitments and work constructively together." .

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Ms Betts also notes that "American whiskeys also remain subject to tariffs on their imports into the UK and the EU due to a separate dispute over aluminum and steel and we hope that" this problem will also be resolved quickly, echoing a similar request from the American spirits lobby.

Robin Skailes, president of the Stilton Producers' Association (SCMA), for his part reacted cautiously: "Maybe this paves the way for better US-UK trade communication. This announcement is especially important for the global context, more than for the sole suspension of customs duties ".

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