EU Wants Compromise In Subsidy War | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Tue, Jan 11, 2005

EU Wants Compromise In Subsidy War

Both Sides Are Talking

Airbus suddenly wants to know, why can't we all just get along?

The European maker of commercial aircraft has been locked in combat with Boeing over government subsidies. But now, it looks like Airbus may have blinked.

The EU and the US have been fighting the battle before the World Trade Organization. Both sides have accused the other of illegally paying for commercial aircraft research and both sides were talking tough going into WTO-mandated negotiations.

Now, there's suddenly a much kinder, gentler tone to the Europeans' statements on the trade talks.

"We are from the beginning looking for a compromise solution," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference in Luxembourg. He was quoted by Reuters. "Our trade representative, the (European) trade commissioner Mr (Peter) Mandelson, is in contact with his American counterparts to find a solution and we very much would like to have that kind of solution."

It wasn't immediately clear what effect that sort of soothing talk had in Washington. American Trade Representative Robert Zoellick just last month warned Washington wouldn't sit on its hands for long before taking legal action against the EU and Airbus.

"It's quite obvious that in the future there will be some problems because of the globalization process we are all living in, there will be some problems between firms on both sides of the Atlantic and also in Europe itself," Barroso said at Monday's news conference. "There should be no contamination by a problem we have in the field of trade to other areas, to other political areas."

Boeing, which has been in close coordination with the Bush administration about its subsidy beef, says Airbus has accepted $15 billion in illegal subsidies. Airbus, on the other hand, says Boeing has accepted $23 billion in illegal subsidies in the form of tax breaks from local governments designed to lure Boeing manufacturing facilities to their towns.

The US threw down the gauntlet last fall, when it withdrew from a 1992 trade agreement covering aerospace firms. Experts have said they don't see a negotiated settlement in this case. Perhaps Airbus is trying now to prove them wrong.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com, www.wto.org

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC