New York – Peace between America and Europe begins with one concrete aspect: tariffs. A phone call between Joe Biden and Ursula von der Leyne indicated the melting began. The two agreed to suspend all mutual duties related to the Airbus-Boeing dossier for four months.
The results are also relevant for Made in Italy: an estimate by Coldiretti indicates that yesterday’s agreement removes customs taxes on imports of Italian cheeses into the United States for a value of half a billion euros per year. And the deal must be of Biden’s intentions, in particular, a prediction of the time to come. This should open a new chapter for the White House, which will also include China in the name of rebuilding a strong Atlantic alliance.
This is a clear change of strategy in relation to the Trump presidency, in which the criminals of their trade held everyone on the same level, killing both allies and a strategic rival such as China with tariffs. But melting with Europe begins with a dossier that has nothing to do with Trump. The Airbus-Boeing controversy is very old, dating back to 2004 when George W. Bush was in the White House. Europeans and Americans have accused each other of helping their aeronautical giants with public subsidies. The International Trade Tribunal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) has proved right – and therefore wrong -.
The result is that both Washington and Brussels have felt entitled to unhappiness, and have been hit as tariffs on a range of products that go beyond aeronautics. In all, the United States had hit $ 7.5 billion in annual imports from Europe, with the European Union reacting with tariffs on 4 billion US-made products.
A mere four-month suspension should not be misleading. White House dialogues explain what the goal is: “In light of our common values, and our trade and investment relations which are among the largest in the world, leaders agreed to suspend the tariffs and work to resolve it.” Has. Controversy in the WTO. ” So four months must work to find a definitive agreement. And it will be sought at the multilateral headquarters of the World Trade Organization, a body that was boycotted by the Trump presidency.
The suspension is the beginning of a new chapter, under the banner of respect for Atlantic harmony and multilateralism. However, it should be noted that the relationship with Brussels is not exclusive. A similar announcement was made 24 hours ago with the government of Boris Johnson (a shareholder in the Airbus consortium), in tribute to the old preferential relationship with London.
The olive branch that the Europeans presented to Biden was expected and is not a completely free gesture. The new White House representative for foreign trade, Catherine Tai, announced at the time of her appointment that she immediately wanted peace with Europeans. Tai said that the Biden administration wants to agree on a common strategy with the people of Europe – on many fronts, from trade to investment – to contain Chinese expansion. On this basis, there is no lack of resistance in Brussels, Berlin and other capitals.
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