U.S. and EU take steps to end their WTO aircraft dispute

Both sides will suspend application of tariffs for a period of five years and seek to overcome their long-standing differences

The United States and the European Union (EU) announced a cooperative framework to address the large civil aircraft disputes.

The agreement moves away from past confrontation in pursuit of a cooperative future by suspending the tariffs related to this dispute for five years.

Both sides will now seek to overcome long-standing differences in order to avoid future litigation and preserve a level playing field between their aircraft manufacturers and will also work to prevent new differences from arising.

The two sides will collaborate on jointly analyzing and addressing non-market practices of third parties that may harm their large civil aircraft sectors.

The European Union and the United States disputes on Large Civil Aircraft (LCA; also known as the Airbus-Boeing Dispute) is the longest running dispute in the history of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It started in 2004.

The United States and the United Kingdom were negotiating to conclude a similar agreement.