Sat, Dec 03, 2011
Airbus Looks To Boeing To Live Up To Previous Rhetoric On WTO
Compliance Next Year
Europe has implemented the WTO findings it ways has brought the
parties into full conformity with WTO obligations. Airbus said in a
statement that the WTW ruling in May of 2011 confirmed that
European partnership with Airbus is legal and that government
support to Airbus did not cause material injury to Boeing. While
pleased with the WTO’s substantial affirmation of the
European position in the decision, Airbus respects that the
decision did contain limited findings of subsidy effects requiring
action within six months of the decision.
"Today we have presented a comprehensive package of actions that
achieves full compliance with the WTO recommendations and rulings
in the Airbus case," said John Clancy, spokesman for European Union
trade commissioner Karel De Gucht.
“We only needed to make limited changes in European
policies and practices to comply with the Appellate Body’s
report; we did what we needed to do and we did it in the agreed
timeframe,” said Rainer Ohler, Airbus’ Head of Public
Affairs and Communications. “Today, we call on the US and
Boeing to do the same next year. We realize that this will mean
substantial sacrifice for Boeing due to the far broader scope and
scale of WTO findings of US subsidy to Boeing”.
Following a review with independent experts of what obligations
resulted from the WTO’s ruling, Europe has adopted a course
of action it says addresses all forms of adverse effects, all
categories of subsidies and all models of Airbus aircraft covered
by the WTO report. As a result, Europe has ensured full
implementation of the WTO recommendations and rulings. The WTO will
publicly disclose information regarding these measures at a later
stage. Airbus calls on all parties to recognize that Europe has
implemented in good faith, and to return to vigorous marketplace
competition rather than further attempts to stifle competition
through unjustified legal processes.
Airbus calls for a show of similar good faith in the
implementation of the judgment of Boeing aid coming early next
year. Airbus remains concerned that recent media reports of massive
federal tax subsidies for Boeing suggest that it will continue to
flout the rules of the game. Airbus will carefully follow this
separate case to ensure that the playing field remains fair on both
sides of the Atlantic.
Boeing still contends that the WTO ruling showed Airbus was the
beneficiary of $18 billion in illegal European government subsidies
over 40 years. In a statement, the U.S. planemaker said EU
officials had publicly acknowledged their compliance obligation.
Boeing said it "will work with the U.S. Trade Representative to
ensure that all of the illegal subsidies have indeed been removed
and that full compliance has been achieved. We expect Airbus and
its government sponsors to demonstrate that the practice of
market-distorting launch aid – the most pernicious form of
subsidy Airbus was found to have received – has ended."
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