In a sign of goodwill to rebuild trans-Atlantic relations, the European Union and the United States have decided to suspend tariffs used in the longstanding Airbus-Boeing dispute, the EU Commission president said Friday.
Ursula von der Leyen said after remote talks with U.S. President Joe Biden that both sides "committed to focus on resolving our aircraft disputes, based on the work of our respective trade representatives."
The suspension will last for an initial period of four months.
Von der Leyen called it "a very positive signal for our economic cooperation in the years to come."
"This is excellent news for businesses and industries on both sides of the Atlantic," she said.
The EU is using the early months of the Biden administration to reset relations with the U.S. after four years of trans-Atlantic acrimony under former President Donald Trump.
With the initiative to ease the aircraft fight that long weighed on trade relations, the 27-nation bloc is seeking to rekindle the spirit of cooperation between Washington and Europe that has long defined global diplomacy.
Von der Leyen said she invited Biden to a global health summit in Rome on May 21 to streamline the fight against COVID-19, the common enemy that has killed over a million people in the EU and U.S. combined.
