Airbus logo at the factory in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo: AFP/VNA) European aircraft maker Airbus has welcomed a truce between the European Union (EU) and the US to ease transatlantic trade tensions over government subsidies for the two manufacturers. airplane export Boeing and Airbus . Speaking at a press conference on June 15, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said: “From an Airbus perspective, we warmly welcome that agreement.” Mr. Scherer stressed that anything that levels the playing field in this highly competitive industry and avoids a nasty tariff confrontation where neither side wins is good news. Earlier, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that the EU and the US had come to an agreement to suspend retaliatory tariffs related to the dispute over subsidies for two aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing in the past 5 years. year. Ms. Katherine Tai said Washington could re-impose punitive taxes if US companies cannot “ fair competition ” with European companies. This agreement is said to mark a diplomatic victory in the US President’s trip Joe Biden to Brussels. In March, the EU and the US also agreed to suspend for four months the imposition of retaliatory tariffs related to subsidies to Airbus and Boeing. The suspension will last until July 10, with tariffs re-imposed on July 11, if no solution is reached. Due to a trade dispute over government subsidies for two of the world’s top rival aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, EU and US continuously roll out tariffs to punish each other. In March 2018, then US President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tax on imported steel products and 10% on aluminum imported from the EU, Canada and Mexico. In response, the EU approved regulations to impose tariffs on $3.2 billion in US goods, including a 25% tax on American whiskey. In addition to the Airbus-Boeing issue, the two sides are currently arguing over France, Spain and some EU countries imposing digital taxes on major US technology firms.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. (Source: agnetwest.com)

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai April 15 said international trade activities have prompted many countries to reduce environmental protection measures to attract investment, and regulations on global trade is necessary to prevent the “race to the bottom.”

“Race to the bottom” is a socio-economic term to describe the government’s deregulation of the business environment, or reduction of tax rates, in order to attract or maintain economic activity.

In her speech at the Center for American Progress, Ms. Tai said the notion that environmental problems are not part of trade ignores the fact that existing rules of globalization encourage less pressure. for environmental protection. This puts countries with higher environmental standards at a competitive disadvantage.

Speaking ahead of the online climate change summit on President Joe Biden’s initiative next week, Ms. Tai said she was committed to strengthening rules within the World Trade Organization (WTO). to combat problems like illegal fishing and overfishing.

According to her, countries should use commercial policies and trade enforcement actions to protect forests, because “forests are considered the lungs of the Earth.”

However, these regulations will be ineffective if they are not enforced. In the future, trade plays a role in preventing the “race to the bottom” and encouraging the “race to the top” (for the environment).

Ms. Tai noted that this is only done on a global scale through global regulations.

In the context that the world is deviating from meeting the goals of limiting global warming, many countries have signed in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change 2015, President Biden hopes next week’s summit will deliver stronger commitments ahead of the UN-hosted Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year.

Just days after taking office in January 2021, the US leader signed executive orders he said would “advance ambitious plans to respond to the threat of climate change.”

Mr. Biden announced that Washington will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change and is expected to announce an ambitious emission target by 2030./.