On December 30th, in the latest escalation of the on-going dispute over aircraft subsidies, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will impose additional Section 301 tariffs on goods imported from the European Union (EU).

An additional 15% tariff will be assessed on aircraft parts, as well as 25% tariffs on an assortment of other goods – which include certain non-sparkling wines, cognac and other grape brandies from France and Germany – beginning on or after 12:01 am EST on January 12, 2021.

The latest retaliation is in response to the EU’s use of “distorted” trade data related to COVID-19; this information was used as the basis for its imposition of tariffs on $4 billion worth of goods imported from the US effective November 10, 2020. As a result, the US will adjust its policy to utilize data from the same period as the EU as the basis for its tariffs, instead of data from 2019 as originally planned. According to USTR officials, the increase is necessary “to keep the two actions proportionate to each other.”

Click here to view the list of EU products subject to additional duties.

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide status updates as they become available.