EU Diplomat Confident Section 232 Tariffs, Airbus-Boeing Tariffs Can Be Resolved in 2021

Tomas Baert, head of trade and agriculture at the European delegation in Washington, said the European Union is looking for a “strong and united front with the United States” on trade as the region and the world recover from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baert, who was speaking on a webinar Dec. 15 hosted by the European American Chamber of Commerce, said that while the Trump era was marked with “turbulence and tension” in trade, Europe feels like it escaped mostly unharmed, since there were not “massive tariffs” imposed on exported cars, trucks and auto parts, as was threatened.

Asked about the chances for resolving Airbus-Boeing and the Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel in the next administration, he predicted those issues would be resolved fairly quickly next year. “The disputes are the starter, the first course on the menu,” he said, “really because they're trivial.” He said the tariffs and countermeasures in both disputes have not been large enough to affect the larger economy. “We are very keen to settle a long-standing dispute,” he said, referring to Airbus-Boeing.

Baert is looking forward to larger trade questions, such as how to agree on rules on subsidies so the EU and the U.S. can have a shared approach on Chinese industrial subsidies. He also noted that the EU will be developing a carbon border adjustment mechanism. “That’s obviously an instrument that will create certain concerns on the trade side,” he said, and it would be better to coordinate with the U.S. before it rolls out.

Baert praised President-elect Joe Biden's pick for U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai (see 2012100032). He said, “I think we have an excellent interlocutor who will be open to engage on all the challenges we laid out -- health [product tariffs], climate, digital [services tax], China’s challenge,” he said.