BRUSSELS: Handbags, tractors, shovels and fish are part of an 11-page list of US imports worth $20 billion (£15.4 billion) that the European Union on Wednesday said it could hit with tariffs in a transatlantic aircraft subsidy dispute.
The United States and the European Union have been battling for almost 15 years at the World Trade Organization over subsidies given to US planemaker Boeing and its European rival Airbus.
After partial victories for both sides, each is asking a WTO arbitrator to determine the level of countermeasures they can impose on the other.
The Trump administration last week proposed targeting a seven-page list of EU products for tariffs, ranging from large aircraft to dairy products and wine, to counteract the harm from EU subsidies for Airbus worth an estimated $11 billion.
Brussels has responded with its own list of some $20 billion worth of US imports, including agricultural produce from dried fruit to ketchup, planes, fish, tobacco, handbags, suitcases, tractors, helicopters and video game consoles.
“The EU remains open for discussions with the US, provided these are without preconditions and aim at a fair outcome,” EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement. — Reuters
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