U.S. says sees no reason to reduce tariffs in EU aircraft subsidy case

The U.S. Trade Representative's office on Monday said it saw no basis in Monday's World Trade Organization report that would justify reducing U.S. retaliatory tariffs by $2 billion as Europe's Airbus has suggested.

"Nothing in today's report even suggests that the (WTO) compliance panel found that the amount has decreased," said a USTR spokesman. "There is accordingly no basis for Airbus's assertions that the report 'implies' that the U.S. countermeasures should be reduced by $2 billion."

USTR earlier said it could increase tariffs on a wider range of European goods after the WTO rejected the European Union claims that it no longer provides subsidies to Airbus. Airbus had said Washington should slash its authorized tariffs of $7.5 billion to $5.5 billion since the WTO dropped its previous references to its A380 causing lost sales to Boeing.