Wed, Sep 09, 2009
Cites Recent WTO Ruling On Unfair Competition
You could see this one coming a mile away in the fog.
Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) says Airbus should be
disqualified from the U.S. Air Force tanker competition, in light
of a recently leaked WTO ruling that Airbus has gotten an unfair
advantage from government subsidies.
Todd Tiahrt R-KS
Tiahrt spoke with the Office of the United States Trade
Representative on Friday. “(The) news further demonstrates
the French tanker should have been disqualified because of illegal
subsidies,” he said
The political online site Politico reports that Tiahrt's
comments were quickly followed by less-strident statements by
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Norm Dicks (D-WA), which represent
the area in which a new Boeing tanker would be built. They stopped
short of saying Airbus should be disqualified, however. “If
DoD wants a truly fair competition, it needs to start with
competitors that play by the rules,” Murray said in a
statement. “DoD needs to answer to how this violation of WTO
rules will be considered in the competition for the vital aerial
refueling tanker.”
Airbus Tanker File Image
Dicks added: “It would be inconceivable for the Defense
Department to issue its request for proposals for a new Air Force
refueling tanker without including a provision which recognizes the
ruling issued today by the WTO panel: that these Airbus airframes
have benefited from illegal subsidies that gave them an unfair
advantage in global sales."
Boeing 767 Tanker File Image
Airbus has won two rounds of bidding on a contract to replace
the aging KC-135 tanker fleet, but both times the contract has been
re-opened either due to technicalities or congressional
intervention. For their part, Politico reports that EADS and
Northrop Grumman say the WTO ruling should have no bearing on the
competition. EADS CEO Ralph Crosby said in a statement: “The
Air Force has said its number one priority is to replace the
service’s Kennedy-era tankers through a competitive
procurement.”
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