Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium – Europe’s competition chief has dismissed U.S. concerns about European government aid to Airbus Industrie for a new superjumbo jet designed to challenge the Boeing 747’s dominance of the long-haul market.
Asked about President Clinton’s warning to European Union leaders in Washington this week about financing for the A380, Commissioner Mario Monti said today the issue was “not new” and was addressed in a bilateral agreement signed in 1992.
The United States believes that the $2.5 billion in long-term loans EU governments are providing to Airbus may violate World Trade Organization rules. Airbus and the EU’s head office reject the accusation.
EU officials say that if the United States takes legal action against Airbus over the $10.7 billion A380 project, they will respond in kind with challenges to what they consider indirect subsidies to Boeing through U.S. military and space contracts.
The European aircraft consortium is Seattle-based Boeing’s only major rival in the market for commercial jets.
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