Europe is organizing its counter-attack.
While the United States has overtaxed a whole range of European products since 2019, the 27, too, should have a financial weapon in return.
According to
the Parisian
, the WTO should allow Europe to impose additional customs duties on about 4 billion dollars (3.4 billion euros) of US exports on Tuesday.
Read also: Scottish whiskey worries about new US taxes
Among the sectors that could be targeted: aeronautics, including the Boeing 737, to
"repair the damage caused to our aeronautics industry by American aid"
, explains the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Foreign Trade, Franck Riester in an interview with
Le Parisien
.
This WTO decision is in fact following the aid granted by the United States to Boeing and deemed non-compliant with international trade rules by the world organization.
But above all, the latter offers Europe the possibility of a financial response to the 7.5 billion dollars in additional customs duties imposed by the United States on certain Union products including airplanes, French wines, Italian cheeses or Scottish whiskeys.
Ketchup and sweet potato
Likewise, products from the agri-food industry could appear on the list of those overtaxed by Europe, including
"ketchup, and one of its largest American manufacturers, Heinz, or sweet potato",
indicates Franck. Riester, specifying that
"nothing has been frozen yet".
According to the minister,
“Europe must demonstrate its determination to defend its interests by imposing taxes on American companies.
This is the only way to get the United States to come back to the negotiating table and play fair ”
.
France, like Europe, hope to achieve a de-escalation of this conflict which has lasted for 14 years and which was first settled by the WTO on October 2.
The organization had estimated that some EU member countries, in particular Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and France, had awarded subsidies to the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, distorting competition with the American Boeing.
As a sanction, it had authorized the United States to impose additional tariffs.
Europe had called across the Atlantic to put an end to these surcharges and not to increase them, in vain.
She had therefore promised revenge if she got the green light from the WTO, which seems about to be the case.