In response to recent action by the European Union in the Large Civil Aircraft (Boeing-Airbus) Dispute in the World Trade Organization (“WTO”), the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) has announced the inclusion of additional products to the list of EU goods subject to Section 301 tariffs.

Section 301 tariffs will apply to specified additional products of France and Germany, including certain aircraft manufacturing parts, and certain non-sparkling wines, and cognac and other grape brandies.  The USTR’s action targets products of France and Germany, as the agency contends these countries have provided the greatest level of WTO-inconsistent large civil aircraft subsidies.  In a press release issued late on December 30, 2020, the USTR explained that its decision to expand the pool of EU products currently subject to additional tariffs responds to recent retaliatory action taken by the European Union in November 2020, which imposed additional tariffs on certain large civil aircraft of the United States and other U.S. goods.

Pending confirmation in a forthcoming formal Federal Register Notice, the USTR’s revisions will apply to products entered for consumption, or withdrawn from consumption, on or after 12:01 am (Eastern Standard Time) on January 12, 2021.

The ongoing large civil aircraft spat between the United States and the European Union simmered for more than a decade at the WTO and, in recent years, resulted in a tit-for-tat tariff war between the two trade partners.  As importers close the book on 2020, the retaliatory tariffs show no clear signs of slowing.  As no exclusion process has yet been implemented by the USTR in connection with this dispute, importers of impacted products should explore options for duty-savings.

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Photo of John Brew John Brew

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations…

John Brew is the co-chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, and he regularly advises corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and non-governmental organizations on matters involving customs administration, enforcement, compliance, litigation, legislation and policy.

John represents clients in proceedings at the administrative and judicial levels, as well as before Congress and the international bureaucracies that handle customs and trade matters. He advises clients on all substantive import regulatory issues handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as classification, valuation, origin, marking, tariff preference programs, other agency regulations, admissibility, import restrictions, quotas, drawback, audits, prior disclosures, penalties, investigations, Importer Self Assessment and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs, importations under bond, the Jones Act, vessel repairs, and foreign trade zone matters.

Photo of Maria Vanikiotis Maria Vanikiotis

Maria Vanikiotis is a counsel in the International Trade Group of Crowell & Moring and resident in the firm’s New York office.

Maria has experience in a variety of matters related to the movement of goods across international borders, including problem-solving for importers

Maria Vanikiotis is a counsel in the International Trade Group of Crowell & Moring and resident in the firm’s New York office.

Maria has experience in a variety of matters related to the movement of goods across international borders, including problem-solving for importers facing Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs, classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, first sale appraisement programs, free trade agreement origin verifications, country of origin analyses, and other regulatory issues.

Before joining Crowell & Moring, Maria worked for a boutique law firm in New York focusing on customs law and, while in law school, Maria was employed as a summer associate in the Brussels office of a large international law firm on matters related to antitrust and competition law within the European Union. As a law student, Maria published a note comparing collective action approaches to antitrust cases in the U.S., U.K., and E.U., for which she won an award for outstanding legal writing. In addition, Maria was an active and accomplished member of both the Fordham International Law Journal and the Dispute Resolution Society.