WASHINGTON, Sept 30 ― The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has authorised the European Union to slap tariffs on US goods worth US$4 billion (RM16.6 billion) to retaliate against subsidies for US planemaker Boeing Co, people familiar with the matter said.

The move echoes last year's decision to allow the United States to penalise US$7.5 billion of EU goods over support for Airbus, though the EU is expected to argue it has total firepower of US$8.2 billion because of separate unused tariffs.

The decision by WTO arbitrators will be published in coming weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified.

The US Trade Representative and the EU's Washington office did not respond to requests for comment. Boeing declined comment on the confidential WTO decision and Airbus was not immediately available for comment. ― Reuters