Thu, Aug 26, 2004
Comments Come A Week After US Threatens To File Complaint About
Airbus Subsidies
If Peter Mandelson has his way, there will be no trade war
between the US and Europe -- at least, not over Airbus
subsidies.
Mandelson (right), the
newly-designated EU trade commissioner, promised to dive into the
controversy head-first to avoid an all-out hissy-fit between Boeing
supporters and those who back Airbus. The US says loans from France
and Germany have made Airbus into the world's biggest manufacturer
of commercial aircraft. Last week, President Bush threatened to
file a complaint about the subsidies with the World Trade
Organization.
"I think we can avoid a trade war," Mandelson said Friday. He
was quoted in the Seattle Times. "We should talk about these
matters — talk across the table and not through
megaphones."
President Bush's threat came in the midst of an election
campaign where he's trying to woo Boeing workers -- and every other
voter in the state of Washington, where Boeing still has a massive
presence. Bush lost that state in 2000.
In a campaign visit to Seattle last Friday, Bush said US trade
representative Bob Zoellick will tell EU officials next month that
the Airbus subsidies are "unfair." The president continued, saying
"He should pursue all options to end these subsidies, including
bringing a WTO case if need be."
"I've been around long enough and know America well enough to
discount some of what is said in an American presidential election
year. So I think the best judgment will be applied after November,"
Mandelson told the Times after hearing of Bush's comments.
The way the US supports Boeing and Europe supports Airbus is
governed by a 1992 agreement that the Bush administration calls
outdated. The US wants a ban on all "new subsidies."
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