Wed, Mar 24, 2010
Boeing Calls The Grant "Unfortunate"
The German Government is set to
loan $1.49 billion to Airbus for the development of the A350
long-haul airliner. "As far as we are concerned all pre-conditions
have been met and the funds are available," said Peter Hintze,
parliamentary state secretary at the German ministry of
economics.
Analysts read that statement as indicating that the German
government believes all World Trade Organization rules have
been followed.
The international news service AFP reports that Hintze said
there are some "final issues" that still need to be worked out,
including the division of work between Germany and France on the
A30X airliner, which is expected to be a successor for the
workhorse A320. "We want to be sure that (A30X) research and
development will be done in Germany," he said. Most expect that the
A30X will be built in Hamburg in northern Germany.
The A350 XWB will be constructed largely of composites, and is
intended to rival Boeing's Dreamliner. France has already pledged
nearly $2 billion for development of the plane. Britain has
promised about $541 million. Overall development of the new Airbus
is expected to top $16 billion.
Boeing issued the following
statement from Ted Austell, vice president, Executive, Legislative
and Regulatory Affairs,concerning the proposed grant, which was
unveiled just prior to an expected announcement of a WTO final
decision on previous government subsidies to Airbus.
"On the eve of such an important
decision, it is unfortunate and disappointing to see news reports
quoting a senior German official saying that Germany is prepared to
provide 1.1 billion Euros ( $1.49 billion) for the development
of the Airbus A350 – a move that flies in the face of both
the expected WTO decision and the rules-based global trading system
we've all endorsed. It also is curious, although not unexpected, to
see reports of Airbus calling for a negotiated settlement only 24
hours before a WTO ruling that both parties expect to uphold all of
the major U.S. claims. As U.S. officials have repeatedly made
clear, there's a place for negotiations, but not on programs and
actions declared inconsistent with WTO obligations. Illegal
European subsidies have done great harm to the U.S. aerospace
industry. It's time to level the playing field and let companies
compete on product, price, innovation, and customer support without
market-distorting government subsidies."
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