The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced it has begun a process to subject imports of European Union (EU) origin products, including aircraft, aircraft parts, and a variety of other goods, to Section 301 duties, unless the EU removes their subsidies to Airbus. This is a result of the ongoing dispute with the EU over aircraft subsidies at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Estimates of the harm from the EU subsidies are estimated at $11 billion in trade each year. The actual amount is subject to an arbitration at the WTO, the result of which is expected to be issued this summer.
The detailed preliminary list of goods they are considering is quite extensive, and includes two sections:
- For new helicopters, new aircraft, and parts of Chapter 88, from France, Germany, Spain or the United Kingdom; and
- For certain particular products from any EU country: including
| CHAPTER | COMMODITIES |
| 3 & 16 | Seafood |
| 4 | Dairy products |
| 8 | Citrus fruit |
| 15 & 20 | Olive oil & olives |
| 19 | Sweet biscuits |
| 20 & 22 | Fruit jams, pastes, purees & juices |
| 22 | Drinks including wines, brandy & liqueurs |
| 33 | Essential oils & resinoids |
| 42 | Leather or composite leather handbags |
| 44 | Wood tools & handles |
| 48 & 49 | Paper, books, decals, lithographs, pictures & photos |
| 52, 54, 55, & 56 | Fibers, yarn & fabric |
| 57 | Textile carpet & floor coverings |
| 58 | Hand-woven tapestries & tape fasteners |
| 59 | Laminated theatrical scenery fabrics & rubberized printers’ blankets |
| 61 & 62 | Wearing apparel |
| 63 | Blankets & bed linen |
| 68 | Stone & cement articles |
| 69 | Ceramic tiles & household articles |
| 70 | Glass & fiberglass articles |
| 71 | Palladium, silver household articles |
| 72 | Ferros |
| 73 | Compressed gas containers; iron or steel chain, nails, tacks, staples, knitting needles |
| 74 | Copper alloy wire; pipes and tubes, and household articles |
| 75 | Nickel alloy foil |
| 79 | Zinc household articles, tubes & pipe fittings |
| 81 | Niobium, rhenium & vanadium |
| 82 | Hand tools & knives |
| 83 | Metal picture frames |
| 84 | Self-propelled machinery; pneumatic hand tools; hand welding apparatus |
| 85 | Magnets; industrial microwave ovens; sealed beam lamps |
| 87 | Motorcycles & parts |
| 90 | Prisms & lenses, binoculars & sights, levels & balances, oscilloscopes |
| 91 | Wall clocks & clock movements |
| 96 | Artists’ brushes |
Public comments are being sought by the USTR with the following dates:
- May 6, 2019 – Due date for requests to appear at the public hearing
- May 15, 2019 – Public hearing by Section 3-1 Committee in Washington, DC
- May 28, 2019 – Due date for submission of written comments
Comments may be submitted regarding whether specific products should be added or removed, the duty rate for the additional Section 301 duties, the appropriate aggregate level of trade to be covered by additional duties, and whether increased duties on particular products may have an effect for U.S. stakeholders.
Written comments may be filed on-line at www.regulations.gov using docket number USTR-2019-0003.
Once the WTO arbitrator issues its report on the value of countermeasures, the USTR will announce a final product list covering a level of trade commensurate with the adverse effects determined to exist. The Administration is preparing to respond immediately when the WTO issues its finding on the value of U.S. countermeasures.
If you have any questions regarding the USTR’s proposal to subject EU aircraft and other products to Section 301 duties, Livingston can help! Please contact either your Livingston account manager or our regulatory affairs group at [email protected]