Airlines for Europe urges US and EU to exempt aviation industry from trade tariffs

President Donald Trump recently threatened to impose a 30% blanket tariff on EU exports from 1 August 2025 onwards, prompting the EU to propose a second round of trade countermeasures totalling €72 billion in US goods. As the aviation industry would be heavily affected, Airlines for Europe is now urging both the US and EU to “pull back from the brink of a trade war and keep aviation out of the crossfire.”

The EU presented its list of trade countermeasures on Monday 14 July 2025. Overall, most of the exports targeted by the proposal are industrial goods, good for €65.7 billion – compared to €6.4 billion in agricultural products. According to the Commission, the retaliation is necessary for a number of reasons, such as the need to rebalance the playing field in light of the US tariffs affecting EU exports to the US.

Today, EU countries backed our proposal to impose trade countermeasures on the United States, in response to unjustified steel and aluminium tariffs.

Duties will apply from 15 April.

They can be lifted at any time, should a fair and balanced negotiated solution be found.

— European Commission (@EU_Commission) April 9, 2025

Aviation industry heavily impacted

The 200-page list includes a myriad of specific items, yet the biggest target would be the aircraft and aircraft parts industry, amounting to almost €11 billion of US exports. According to Airlines for Europe, this would add considerably to fleet costs, while disrupting the flow of spare parts and repairs that keep planes flying safely, and delaying the rollout of newer, quieter, lower-emission jets. Overall, there would be fewer aircraft deliveries, more expensive operations, and slower climate progress.

“This industry thrives on cross-border competition and cooperation – not confrontation. Imposing tariffs on aircraft and parts would be a lose-lose move that puts jobs, connectivity, and sustainability at risk,” said Ourania Georgoutsakou, Airlines for Europe Managing Director.

The organisation is thus asking both the US and the EU to de-escalate tensions and safeguard the aviation industry, which highly depends on transatlantic competition and collaboration.  

“Boeing and Airbus aircraft – and the engines that power them – depend on highly specialised supply chains that stretch across the US and the EU. Aircraft parts regularly cross borders for maintenance, repair and overhaul by certified providers – often multiple times over their service life. Imposing tariffs on this movement of parts would create chaos, cause unnecessary delays, and increase costs for passengers and cargo alike,” Airlines for Europe states in a press release.

Whether or not the list of trade countermeasures will be adopted by the EU remains to be seen. In order for that to happen, EU member countries would have to formally approve them and so far, a vote has not yet been called. At the moment, negotiations are underway and a first round of countermeasures totalling €21 billion in US goods has been postponed until 6 August 2025 to leave room for a possible trade agreement between the US and the EU.