BRUSSELS, 21 May, 2021 (TON): European Commission Executive Vice-President and trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday that EU and US are working to reach an agreement on their long-standing dispute on aircraft subsidies by the July 11 deadline.

Dombrovskis said at a press conference that the deadline was "realistic" and that he was confident that an agreement will be reached.

"We had intensive and broad discussions on this topic with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai last week and also during today's video conference she confirmed this timeline so we are working to reach this agreement by July 11," Dombrovskis said.

Earlier, he EU and the US agreed to suspend tariffs imposed on billions of dollars of imports in a dispute over aircraft subsidies that goes back 16 years. The suspension runs until July 10, with tariffs re-applying on July 11 if there is no solution.

Since the 1980s onset of intensified sales competition between American and European civil aircraft manufacturers, aircraft trade has been a point of contention in transatlantic trade.