In a protracted dispute between the EU and the US over illegal subsidies to Airbus and Boeing, the WTO condemns the WTO. The United States has the right to impose tariffs of 7,5 billion dollars as a penalty. Archive image. Photo: Francois Mori/AP/TT

The United States may, in a decision of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), authorise the imposition of criminal duties on goods from the EU at the value of 7,5 billion dollars (around 74 billion krone). The WTO communication, which came on Wednesday, is the latest chapter in the 15-year-long battle between the EU and the US over illegal aid to the two aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.

The decision means that the US can prove everything from salmon fillets to aircraft parts with tariffs.

The EU has threatened to impose similar tariffs on US goods.

The penalty imposed by the WTO is the greatest in the history of the World Trade Organisation.