The Irishman set to take over as the European Union’s top trade official on Monday urged the United States not to launch an economically damaging tariff war with the bloc over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing.
The World Trade Organization ruled in May that Europe illegally subsidized Airbus, hurting U.S. competitor Boeing. The WTO is set shortly to allow President Donald Trump to slap tariffs worth billions of euros on European products – including wine, cheese and olives – in response. The EU has brought a similar case at the WTO accusing the U.S. government of illegally subsidizing Boeing, and a ruling in its favor is expected, but is still months off.
“I would ask the United States to negotiate with us rather than having a tit-for-tat trade war that only does damage to both economies,” Phil Hogan told EU lawmakers at a hearing assessing his suitability for the post of EU trade commissioner. If endorsed by the European Parliament, he would take office along with the rest of the new European Commission team in November.
Hogan said “it doesn’t make sense” for the Trump administration to launch a tariff war “seeing that they’re going to have to deal with the issue if it goes badly wrong for them on Boeing.”
European Commissioner designate for Trade Phil Hogan answers questions during his hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)“Europe has to stand up for itself as well, in terms of the products that we will identify in return,” he added.