Britain on Thursday said it had agreed a truce with the United States over a 17-year long tariffs dispute involving European planemaker Airbus and US rival Boeing.
It comes in the wake of a similar deal between the European Union and US announced Tuesday.
The dispute, the longest-running in the history of the World Trade Organization, has seen damaging retaliatory tariffs levied on products on both sides of the Atlantic owing to disagreements over support for large civilian aircraft, the UK government explained in a statement Thursday.
Read more: US proposes new tariffs on EU products over Airbus subsidies
But both sides have finally agreed “to suspend retaliatory tariffs for five years”, it added.
The agreement followed talks between Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
The deal ensures retaliatory tariffs on products including Scotch whisky are suspended.
“Today’s deal draws a line under an incredibly damaging issue,” said Truss.
🇬🇧🇺🇸 Fantastic welcoming @AmbassadorTai to the UK today.
We’re making great progress on:
👉 Working together to tackle unfair trade practices
👉 Ending the Airbus/Boeing dispute
👉 Helping our countries #BuildBackBetter through trade pic.twitter.com/mePEoUOADo— Liz Truss (@trussliz) June 16, 2021
She added that it meant the UK could now focus on taking its “trading relationship with the US to the next level”, as Britain seeks to strike a post-Brexit free-trade agreement with the world’s biggest economy.
Truss added that the two countries would also work “more closely to challenge unfair practices by nations like China and using the power of free trade to build back better from the pandemic”.
Read more: Boeing lands huge British Airways order, after Airbus ends A380
President Joe Biden and the EU also agreed a long-term truce in the Airbus-Boeing feud as they seek to put aside disputes and deal with rising challenges from China.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk