WASHINGTON (June 21, 2021) – American Chemistry Council (ACC) President and CEO, Chris Jahn, and CEFIC Director General, Marco Mensink, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. and EU agreement to end their 17-year dispute over aircraft subsidies and suspend punitive tariffs for five years:
“The U.S. and European chemicals industry are encouraged to see a cooperative framework now in place to resolve the long-standing dispute over aircraft subsidies. A five-year suspension of WTO-authorized countermeasures – if it holds – will ease the tariff burden on transatlantic chemical manufacturers and possibly help avoid costly tariffs in the future. With the announcement as well of a working group on Section 232 tariffs, the tide may finally begin to turn in favor of rescinding steel and aluminum and retaliatory tariffs, avoiding new ones, and fully eliminating transatlantic chemical tariffs in the future. A tariff-free trading environment between the United States and European Union is the best way to unlock the full potential of chemicals manufacturing growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Demonstrated leadership on suspending tariffs could also foster deeper discussions on how to further strengthen the U.S.-EU relationship and cooperation within the World Trade Organization. With the potential suspension of other tariffs, modernizing the WTO and the rules-based international trading system would be the sensible next step toward protecting, promoting, and enforcing free and fair trade around the globe.”