US and EU set to end Trump’s $18bn tariff war
The US and EU will reportedly commit to ending outstanding trade disputes and pledge to end tariffs before the end of the year when they meet next week.
President Joe Biden and European leaders will agree to resolve disagreements, including a long-running dispute over aircraft, at a summit in Brussels on 15 June.
The pledges were laid out in a draft of the conclusions seen by Bloomberg.
The allies will vow to find a solution to the aircraft solution, which came to a head under the Trump administration and contributed to more than $18bn (£12.7bn) in tariffs before 11 July.
In 2019 the World Trade Organization gave the US permission level tariffs against $7.5bn of EU exports over illegal state aid given to Airbus and Boeing. In turn the bloc hit back with $4bn of tariffs on US goods.
The two sides had already agreed to suspend their tariffs until July to help facilitate a settlement.
The EU and US will also work towards rolling back tariffs in an ongoing steel and aluminium dispute before 1 December, according to the draft.
The conflict has seen a number of major brands, including Harley-Davidson and Levi Strauss — as well as bourbon whiskey — fall victim to levies.
In a final sign of reconciliation, the two sides will announce a partnership aimed at reinforcing the supply of semiconductors in the regions amid a global shortage, as well as reducing reliance on major Asian manufacturers.
The tie-up forms part of a wider collaboration on digital issues, dubbed the Trade and Technology Council, which they are set to formally agree on at the summit.
“We commit to building an EU-US partnership on the rebalancing of global supply chains in semiconductors with a view to enhancing EU and US respective security of supply,” the draft reads.