U.S. Trade Representative's Office Says Hearings In Case Against EU Ongoing

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has sent notifications to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body detailing the United States’ timely compliance with the WTO’s recommendations in the large civil aircraft dispute with the European Union (EU) related to U.S. government subsidies to Boeing. The United States’ deadline to comply with the rulings and recommendations in this case was September 23, 2012.

USTR has been working extensively over the last six months with all of the government entities affected by the March 23, 2012 ruling in this case – including NASA, the Department of Defense, the State of Washington, and the City of Wichita – to ensure full compliance with the United States’ WTO obligations.

In a related dispute regarding the European Union’s subsidies to Airbus, the WTO found that the EU provided more than $18 billion in subsidized financing to Airbus. In the EU’s case against the United States, the WTO found $3-4 billion in subsidies to Boeing – which was mostly in the form of funding for public research. A WTO panel is currently hearing the case against the EU for its lack of compliance with the June 1, 2011 ruling.

In a statement, Boeing said it "fully supports the actions the U.S. government announced today that it has taken to address the relatively small amounts of subsidy that the World Trade Organization identified as inconsistent with its rules. The United States has now complied with the WTO ruling.

"Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Airbus and its government sponsors, which have thumbed their noses at the WTO. Despite a crystal clear ruling against launch aid subsidies, European governments have continued the practice by providing Airbus with billions of taxpayer euros and pounds for its next new product, the A350. What is more, the European governments have yet to remove the very substantial subsidies, including those propping up the A380, which the WTO's ruling in June of last year requires them to do.

"The illegal subsidies to Airbus, most importantly the pernicious, market distorting practice of launch aid, must stop. The U.S. government remains committed to ending these subsidies, and Boeing fully supports the actions the U.S. government has taken to ending them," Boeing said.

FMI: www.ustr.gov, www.boeing.com