WTO makes initial ruling on Airbus-Boeing dispute
GENEVA -- The World Trade Organization on Friday handed the United States and European Union its long-awaited initial decision in their dispute over government financing for airplane makers.
The WTO didn't reveal the result of the confidential ruling, but The Wall Street Journal reported that the trade body had ruled Airbus received illegal government assistance. The Journal, citing as its source a person familiar with the matter, said that launch aid packages for the giant A380 passenger jet had been ruled improper subsidies.
The trade body is ruling on a U.S. complaint that asserted Airbus received an unfair boost from billions of dollars in financing to develop airplanes. The ruling could set important precedents on how far governments can go to support the aviation industry.
But appeals could take years, and the companies must wait for a decision next year in an Airbus challenge to what it sees as unfair U.S. government support for Boeing. The complexity of the two cases leads some observers to think the issue is ultimately more likely to be resolved by negotiations between the parties than by rulings.
Both Washington and Brussels confirmed they received the ruling. "Because the interim report is confidential, we cannot discuss the contents," said Deborah Mesloh, deputy assistant U.S. trade representative in Washington.
Lutz Guellner, spokesman for the European trade commissioner, said, "It is a long document of more than 1,000 pages which we will study carefully."
The WTO decision was treated with extreme secrecy, in part because of sensitive company information contained in it.
"In this dispute, the United States is challenging dozens of measures providing over billions of dollars in subsidies to Airbus, including launch aid to every major Airbus aircraft model," Mesloh said. "The dispute has proven to be one of the most complex and lengthy disputes under the WTO."
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