Senators urge Obama to act on Boeing-Airbus subsidy dispute
Published 12:09 pm Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Eight U.S. Senators have called upon President Barack Obama to take action in a trade dispute between the Boeing Co. and Airbus.
The World Trade Organization recently finalized a ruling that says Airbus received unfair government launch aid for some of its commercial aircraft programs. The WTO, however, does not impose sanctions.
“For decades, U.S. aerospace workers have had to compete against a company that has benefitted from illegal subsidies across virtually every one of its commercial airplanes. … The subsidies helped drive Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas out of the commercial airplane business and cut Boeing’s global market share from nearly 67 percent in 1999 to 47 percent in 2004,” the senators wrote in their letter to Obama.
Airbus has a similar case pending with the WTO against Boeing in which the European company alleges Boeing also received illegal subsidies. The WTO is expected to give an initial ruling on that case this summer.
“How the United States reacts to the WTO ruling will determine if this country will continue to have a robust and vibrant aerospace industrial base in the future,” the senators wrote.
The lawmakers also urged Obama to move forward on the U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker contest in which Boeing plans to offer a 767-based tanker. EADS, parent company of Airbus, is considering whether it will bid, using an A330-based tanker. The A330 is believed to be one of the aircraft for which Airbus received unfair launch aid.
The senators who signed the letter include Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Lindsey Graham, R-SC; Claire McCaskill, D-Mo; and Michael Bennet, D-Colo.
