UK Trade Secretary Vows to Step Up Talks With US to Remove Tariffs “as Soon as Possible”

By Staff, Agencies

British Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss on Thursday stated that she will step up talks with the United States in order to remove tariffs on certain products as soon as possible, adding they are "damaging industry and livelihoods on both sides of the Atlantic", noting they are in nobody's interests.

The trade secretary made the statement in response to a US decision to retain tariffs on EU goods, announced on Wednesday.

Washington put the levy on multiple European products after getting permission from the World Trade Organization to take $7.5 billion in retaliatory trade measures for Airbus subsidies. According to the US, Airbus is vastly oversubsidized by European governments, while the EU complained Boeing is vastly oversubsidized by American federal and state governments.

The row concerning the air manufacturers led to the tariffs, which hit the UK, Germany, France, and Spain.