The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) Monday okayed the European Union (EU) request to hit $3.99 billion in U.S. goods with tariffs over subsidies paid to Boeing that were found to run counter to U.S. WTO commitments.
However, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said he would seek to negotiate a settlement with the U.S., according to a statement. The formal approval by the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO “confirms the EU's right to impose countermeasures for illegal subsidies to the American aircraft maker, Boeing,” he said. “The European Commission is preparing the countermeasures, in close consultation with our Member States. As I have made clear all along, our preferred outcome is a negotiated settlement with the U.S.”
The U.S. has offered a proposal to the EU to resolve the Boeing and Airbus disputes that have run for some 16 years, but indications are the EU rejected that US offer.
The U.S. side indicated at the WTO session that they also want a negotiated settlement, indicating one could come in a “short period of time.”