Wed, May 03, 2006
Subsidy Battle Not Limited To Commercial Aircraft
A member of Congress gave Airbus a bit of friendly advice last
week regarding the European aerospace consortium's bid to supply
the US Air Force with a new aerial tanker: if you want the USAF
contract, then give up launch subsidies from European
governments.
Washington State Congressman Norm Dicks, a Democrat, also had
nothing but good things to say about an Air Force request for
information from Airbus about World Trade Organization sanctions,
and about government support the European manufacturer receives
from the EU. Those subsidies have been a sticking point between the
two countries for over two years.
"It's hard for me to conceive that if Airbus doesn't at least
end launch aid for the future, that they can win this competition,"
Dicks said, according to CBS Marketwatch.
US defense contractor
Northrop Grumman -- which is leading the bid to develop the tanker
with Airbus -- replied that such concerns about European planes are
overblown. Company spokesman Randy Belote added that EADS, which
owns 80 percent of Airbus, has pledged to open an aircraft assembly
plant in Alabama -- and Northrop Grumman also plans to modify
commercial jets into military tankers.
"As we've indicated before, the whole launch aid/WTO issue is a
government-to-government issue, and one that is difficult to tie to
an American tanker program," Belote said.
Dicks -- who represents workers at Boeing, Airbus's chief
competitor for the tanker contract, as well as the hearts, minds,
and pocketbooks of airlines around the world -- said the connection
isn't so hard to make... and added he can't see Airbus continuing
to receive EU subsidies while building a replacement for the
American KC-135 refueling tanker.
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