Joint UK- US statement on suspension of tariffs in long-running aerospace dispute

The United Kingdom and the United States are undertaking a four-month tariff suspension to ease the burden on industry and take a bold, joint step towards resolving the longest running disputes at the World Trade Organization.

The United Kingdom ceased applying retaliatory tariffs in the Boeing dispute from January 1, 2021 to de-escalate the issue and create space for a negotiated settlement to the Airbus and Boeing disputes.

The United States will now suspend retaliatory tariffs in the Airbus dispute from March 4, 2021, for four months. This will allow time to focus on negotiating a balanced settlement to the disputes, and begin seriously addressing the challenges posed by new entrants to the civil aviation market from non-market economies, such as China.

This will benefit a wide range of industries on both sides of the Atlantic, and allow for focused settlement negotiations to ensure that our aerospace industries can finally see a resolution and focus on COVID recovery and other shared goals.