LONDON (UK) – British trade minister Liz Truss said on Thursday she was eagerly awaiting to have an early meeting with President-elect Joe Biden’s trade representative, Katherine Tai, to hold talks on dropping tariffs imposed on Scottish whisky.
She said her department was working hard to mitigate the intensity of a row over state subsidies given to civil aviation firms Boeing and Airbus which prompted the US and EU to slap tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods.
The US imposed tariffs on a slew of EU food, wine and spirits, including Scotch whisky, which experts say jeopardises the industry.
“I have been clear with the United States and the European Union that we want to de-escalate this dispute and reach a negotiated settlement – this dispute has already been going on for 16 years and has caused much damage,” Truss said in parliament.
“I am seeking an early meeting with the new US trade representative Katherine Tai and this will be one of the items on my agenda.”
Britain said in December that after its exit from the bloc, it would utilise its new freedom to stray away from the EU’s common policy on trade with the US, deciding to unilaterally do away with tariffs related to the dispute on aircraft subsidies.