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The U.K. distances itself from the E.U. and abolishes tariffs against the U.S.

Boris Johnson Reino Unido

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London, 9 Dec (EFE)

The United Kingdom has distanced itself from the European Union (EU) by announcing that it will unilaterally suspend the tariffs imposed on the United States in the dispute over state subsidies granted to the aerospace sector, the British Ministry of International Trade has reported.

In a statement, the Minister of International Trade, Liz Truss, points out that with the separation from the Twenty-Seven at the end of the transition period, on December 31st, the United Kingdom assumes “an independent approach to the current trade conflicts between the E.U. and the U.S. over tariffs on steel and aluminum and the aerospace sector.”

While the tariffs derived from the dispute over aid to Boeing will be withdrawn in 2021, the British government will maintain those that the E.U. imposed on certain U.S. products in response to the “unjustified” taxes imposed on imports of steel and aluminum from the Community.

The Executive branch, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will, however, consult with those national sectors affected to modify these rates and adjust them to “British interests and the economy,” the note explains.

The E.U. and the U.S. have imposed reciprocal retaliatory tariffs on each other in the long dispute settled by the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the granting of subsidies, respectively, to the European aerospace company Airbus and the U.S. company Boeing.

The United Kingdom has now decided to suspend these tariffs of up to 25% on U.S. imported goods in order to entice the U.S. to come “to a reasonable agreement,” and to demonstrate that London is “serious about reaching a negotiated outcome” to the conflict, the communiqué states.

However, the British government “reserves the right to impose tariffs at any time” if there is no progress towards a resolution of the aerospace dispute.

“Ultimately, we want to de-escalate the conflict and reach a negotiated settlement so that we can deepen our trade relationship with the U.S. and settle all this,” the minister said.

Once out of E.U. structures after January 1st, the U.K. aims to negotiate a new trade treaty with the United States.

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