"We regret this decision which will continue to heavily penalise French exporters," said FEVS President Cesar Giron.

On Wednesday, the U.S. government said it would maintain 15% tariffs on Airbus aircraft and 25% tariffs on other European goods, despite moves by the European Union to resolve a 16-year-old dispute over aircraft subsidies.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Tom Hogue)