Europe will be able to overtax American ketchup and aeronautics

The European Union is getting its revenge. On Tuesday, it got the green light from the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowing it to impose sanctions on nearly $ 4 billion of US imports per year, in retaliation for aid granted to Boeing.

In a long-awaited 137-page report, the WTO thus concluded that “nature of adverse effects»Linked to aid to the American aircraft manufacturer amounts to nearly 4 billion dollars (3.4 billion euros) and that Brussels cannot therefore request countermeasures exceeding this amount.

Whatever, the EU wins, with this victory, a financial response to the surcharges imposed for a year by the United States on a whole list of European products, such as airplanes, French wines, Italian cheeses or even Scottish whiskeys. In October 2019, a WTO decision had in fact estimated that certain 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 therefore authorized the United States to impose additional tariffs. Opposite, Europe had promised revenge if it got the green light from the WTO, which is now the case.

Ketchup and aeronautics in the viewfinder

On the side of American products that could be targeted by this surcharge is aeronautics, as the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, mentioned in an interview with Parisian Monday. And this for “Repair the damage caused to our aviation industry by American aid” he clarified. The food industry, including «Him ketchup , and one of its biggest American manufacturers Heinz, or the sweet potato ” could also be on the list, although “Nothing has been frozen yet”, indicated Franck Riester, Monday.