June 30, 2010

Statement of Rep. Norm Dicks
Re: Official Release of WTO Panel Ruling on Airbus Subsidies

The official release of the documents related to the WTO panel decision in the Airbus subsidy case only offers further definitive proof that the so-called “launch aid,” provided by the European governments to Airbus caused material harm to Boeing, allowing Airbus to improperly seize market share and causing the loss of thousands of aerospace jobs in the United States.

This decision confirms that Airbus and its parent EADS were involved in a determined effort to utilize direct governmental subsidies, through below market financing, in an insidious effort to undercut the sales of Boeing airliners worldwide. 

At this point, no amount of misleading advertising or PR puffery can obscure the fact that the European Union nations involved have been found directly responsible for these improper actions.  And at this point the process requires them to end the subsidies promptly.

If these mutually-agreed-upon international trade pacts mean anything at all, the EU nations simply must comply with this ruling and promptly withdraw the subsidies that have harmed the United States – at least within the 90 days that the WTO panel has directed. 
This process has gone on far too long: the substantial harm that Airbus has imposed on Boeing and on U.S. workers represents billions of dollars of lost sales and the loss of tens of thousands of high-paying American aerospace jobs.   We now have the proof.  The EU nations involved can no longer ignore this reality. 

And as you know, I am firmly convinced that the United States government cannot ignore this reality either.  In an open competition for one of the largest Air Force procurements – the replacement of our aerial refueling tankers—I simply do not know how our government can effectively set aside the result that it has now achieved in the international trade arena and not recognize that Airbus is offering a tanker based on an aircraft that was a major recipient of these improper launch subsidies.   The A330 airframe has benefitted from a substantial direct government subsidy – against the WTO protocols that the EU nations have agreed to.  It defies logic that we would not somehow account for that subsidy in a competition between Airbus and Boeing, especially when Boeing has relied on routine commercial financing to develop all of its aircraft, often risking the company.  So I believe this decision has serious implications for both the EU nations and the United States government.

Link to the announcement by the US Trade Representative

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