Airbus 'deeply regrets' US tariff hike from 10 to 15 percent

The United States is increasing tariffs on Airbus planes imported from Europe to 15 percent, authorities announced, in a move the aerospace giant said on Saturday was "deeply" regrettable. Friday's decision to hike tariffs from March 18 "further escalates trade tensions between the US and the EU", the European aerospace giant said in a statement, adding it creates "more instability for US airlines that are already suffering from a shortage of aircraft."

The announcement from the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) came just days after President Donald Trump said it was time to talk "very seriously" about a trade deal with the European Union. Duties have been at 10 percent since October, when Washington hit European products worth $7.5 billion with tariffs.

"Airbus deeply regrets USTR's decision to increase tariffs on aircraft imported from the EU as well as the decision to maintain tariffs on goods from other sectors," the company said, referring to products - including wine, cheese, coffee and olives - which have been taxed at 25 percent since October.

The latest decision also "ignores the many submissions made by US airlines, highlighting the fact that they - and the US flying public - will ultimately have to pay these tariffs," it added. The German finance ministry said it had taken note of the move by the United States, and reiterated its stance on tariffs.

"Our basic position is clear: we reject any unilateral increase in customs taxes," it said in a statement. "Customs taxes are ultimately harmful to everyone, including the USA." Washington imposed punitive taxes on the $7.5 billion in European products after the World Trade Organization (WTO) gave the United States a green light to take retaliatory trade measures against the EU over its subsidies to European aerospace giant Airbus.

Industry executives in Europe and the United States are on tenterhooks awaiting each new announcement from trade authorities. "It has become abundantly clear that tariffs on distilled spirits products are causing rough seas on both sides of the Atlantic," the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a statement Friday.

The council called on authorities to withdraw 25 percent taxes on American whiskeys in the EU, and 25 percent taxes on liquors imported from five European countries, pointing to fears of a negative impact on the US economy and jobs. But Trump, a real estate developer turned politician, sees tariffs as a negotiating tool.

After a trade war with China that lasted nearly two years and featured punishing reciprocal tariffs, Trump declared at the signing of a "phase one" trade deal with Beijing in January that it was a "momentous step ... righting the wrongs of the past." He has now turned his sights to Europe as Washington brandishes the threat of taxing European auto imports, a move targeting Germany, Europe's biggest auto exporter. Trump wants EU member states to further open their markets to American products, particularly agricultural goods.