03.31.11

Cantwell: WTO Ruling Shows Airbus Had Large Illegal Advantage Over Boeing

Cantwell: ‘American Sweat Equity Beat Out Massive Illegal Subsidies’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) issued the following statement on the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) release of its final decision regarding the formal complaint the European Union (EU) brought against alleged U.S. government subsidies to Boeing:

“This final ruling confirms what we already knew: Airbus has had a massive illegal advantage over Boeing for years. In today’s ruling, the World Trade Organization rejected 80 percent of the European Union’s alleged subsidy claims.

“Illegal subsidies to foreign competitors harm the U.S. aerospace industry and its workers, and they must come to an end. The results of today’s ruling stand in stark contrast to what the WTO ruled in the Boeing vs. EU case last June: that Airbus had received $20 billion in illegal subsidies, the majority of which came in the form of aircraft-specific launch aid. The EU should put a stop to launch aid, which distorts the true price of products and creates unfair competition in the global marketplace.

“Today’s ruling reaffirms that American sweat equity beat out massive illegal subsidies for the Air Force’s tanker contract. American workers will win every time, if given a fair playing field. The deck was stacked in favor of Airbus – and American ingenuity won anyway.”

###