Trade tensions may not affect talks with Washington, says German official

A senior German official said on Thursday the European Union had no choice but to threaten tariffs on U.S. imports in a dispute over aircraft subsidies, but he hoped trade tensions would not affect talks with Washington over a broader trade agreement.

Transatlantic coordinator Peter Beyer said the EU's list of potential tariffs sent the right signal given the U.S. failure to eliminate subsidies to U.S. planemaker Boeing Co.

"At the same time, I really hope that these renewed strains of trade relations do not affect the pending discussions about a trade agreement with the United States," he said in a statement.