US-EU trade talks stall

Brussels's attempt to soothe strained transatlantic trade ties have stalled and a successful conclusion to the talks may have to wait until after the upcoming US presidential contest, the European Union's chief trade negotiator said.

According to Phil Hogan, Washington had "stepped back" from negotiations to try and solve the bilateral dispute over aircraft subsidies.

That could see the EU retaliate with its own multi-billion dollar tariffs on American exports.

In 2019, the World Trade Organisation ruled that the US could take countermeasures against $7.5bn of European Union exports in retaliation for aid provided to jetmaker Airbus that it judged was unfair.

Another WTO ruling, this time on US aid to its own aerospace industry was expected as soon as early July and might authorise the EU to levy its own countervailing tariffs.

"We must acknowledge that the U.S. is now in a pre-election phase," Hogan reportedly said.

"Political attention in Washington is therefore much more on the immediate challenges in U.S. domestic politics, such as the need to deal with the Covid outbreak."

He was speaking following a recent demand from the US President to drop tariffs on Maine lobsters.

Speaking in Maine on 5 June, Donald Trump said: "The European Union has ripped this country off so much, it’s unbelievable, and it’s so easy to solve.

"If they don’t change, we’re going to put a tariff on their cars until they change. And they’ll change right away."

Indeed, Brussels's chief concern was believed to be the risk that the threat of tariffs against EU cars might be revived.