EU threatens escalation in tariff fight over Boeing and Airbus subsidies – BBC

The BBC relies on European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan’s comments to the European Parliament’s trade committee, published late-Monday, to signal the latest threat to global trade.

Key quotes

The EU says it will act ‘decisively’ if the US goes ahead with a threat to put new tariffs on its goods.

On Monday, Europe’s trade commissioner Phil Hogan said Washington had rejected moves to settle the dispute.

‘I want to reassure people that we are ready to act decisively and strongly on the European Union side if we don’t get the type of outcome that we expect from the United States in relationship to finalizing this 15-year-old dispute,’ he told the European Parliament’s trade committee.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has already ruled that subsidies given by the EU to Airbus in 2004 were illegal.

On Monday, Mr. Hogan also criticized recent national security investigations launched by the US against EU goods, suggesting they may also be a form of retaliation.

The investigations, known as 232 investigations, cover products from transformers and mobile cranes to steel nails.

Before last year’s tariffs over Airbus, the Trump administration had imposed duties on EU steel and aluminum – spurring Brussels to tax iconic US products such as denim jeans and motorcycles.

Mr. Trump has also threatened duties on European cars, a particular concern to Germany.

FX implications

Given the news suggesting further hardships for global trade watchers, S&P 500 Futures catch a breather around 3,175 after Wall Street marked another upbeat performance. Even so, the EUR/USD pair recovered to 1.1315 following the announcement.