EU Trade Commissioner Malmstrom Announces That the EU Will Impose €39 Billion Worth of Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods if President Trump Imposes Section 232 Tariffs On Automobiles And Automotive Parts
Manuel Sanchez-Miranda
The European Union’s Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has threatened to impose €39 billion of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods if President Trump follows through with his threat to impose duties on automobiles and automotive parts. While Commissioner Malmström has not yet revealed the full list of products that will be hit by the retaliatory tariffs, reports indicate that Caterpillar trucks, Xerox Corp. machines and Samsonite International S.A. luggage are on the list of possible goods that will be targeted by the European Union. The exchange of threats represents another example of rising trade tensions between the United States and the European Union, which is likely to worsen after an upcoming decision by a WTO arbitration panel in September, which will address the level of trade sanctions the United State may impose on the European Union because of subsidies granted by the EU to Airbus.
Canada Close To A Deal With EU On Possible Fix To WTO Deadlock
Saud Aldawsari
On July 11, 2019, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada and the European Union are close to finalizing a possible solution to the United States’ continued refusal to allow the appointment of new members to WTO’s Appellate Body (AB). The terms of two of the three remaining members of the AB will expire in December 2019, which will effectively make the AB unable to carry out its duties since three members are required for any AB appeal panel. The interim fix would involve establishing an interim appeal arbitration process to address trade issues arising between the two countries.
In addition to this proposal, a number of other WTO members, principally China and the European Union, have provided several proposals to resolve the deadlock. The proposals include limiting the body’s findings to those necessary for the resolution of disputes. The United States continues to reject the proposed solutions. The United States has repeatedly raised concerns that the Appellate Body have overstepped their mandate and ignored the text of the WTO agreements.
