Airbus offers subsidy concession to end U.S. tariffs
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[July 24, 2020]
By Tim Hepher
PARIS (Reuters) - Europe's Airbus said on Friday it was amending French
and Spanish government loans in a "final" bid to reverse U.S. tariffs
and jog the United States into settling a 16-year-old dispute over
billions of dollars of aircraft subsidies.
The planemaker said it had agreed to pay higher interest rates on two
loans that it received to help develop its A350 jet, which entered
service in 2015.
The European Union and France said the move to accept higher interest
rates should settle the row with the United States at the World Trade
Organization. The EU said it would retaliate with sanctions should that
not happen.
"In the absence of a settlement, the EU will be ready to fully avail
itself of its own sanction rights," Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said.
The loans are part of a system targeted by the United States in the
world's largest corporate trade dispute, which has also involved
European condemnation of U.S. support for Boeing.
Failure to withdraw Airbus subsidies completely led to WTO approval for
U.S. sanctions last year on up to $7.5 billion of European goods ranging
from wine to whisky.
Trade groups are bracing for an escalation of the row in the autumn when
the EU is expected to win WTO approval to hit back with its own tariffs
on U.S. goods over subsidies for Boeing.
The WTO has faulted both Europe and the United States for doling out
illegal support to their respective jetmakers. For the last eight years,
the argument has been mainly about whether each side obeyed those
rulings amid multiple appeals.
"With this final move, Airbus considers itself in complete compliance
with all WTO rulings," Airbus said.
In May, the United States declared itself in full compliance with WTO
findings after Washington state abolished aerospace industry tax breaks
that largely benefited Boeing.
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An Airbus A350
takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters in Colomiers near
Toulouse, France, September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File
Photo
INDUSTRY PRESSURE
Although Airbus is not officially a party to the case, which pits the United
States against the EU as well as Britain, France, Germany and Spain, Friday's
statement opens the door for negotiations to end the dispute, a European source
said.
Both sides have repeatedly urged negotiations while accusing the other of
failing to respond seriously to the invitation.
The latest move comes amid increasing pressure on Airbus and European
governments from industries hit by U.S. tariffs, including Scotch whisky makers
and Spanish farmers.
They are frustrated at being dragged into a dogfight between aerospace giants
just when their own industries are also having to cope with the impact of the
coronavirus epidemic.
Airbus said U.S. airlines were also suffering from the tariffs which apply to
imported European jets.
European officials are also trying to quash the U.S. tariffs on legal grounds
but say they have been thwarted by a procedural row after Washington blocked
appointments to the WTO's appeals body. U.S. President Donald Trump has been
critical of the WTO.
At the same time, the timetable for EU retaliatory sanctions has slipped by
several months, to September or October, because of the difficulty of reviewing
documents during the COVID-19 crisis.
"We are in an impasse and need to get out of it. It is a way to show good faith
and open the door to find a solution," a European industry source said,
referring to the loan decision.
Boeing had no immediate comment. The United States Trade Representative was not
immediately available outside business hours. A U.S. source said that any
concessions from Airbus would be welcome but would have to be studied in detail.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Leigh Thomas, Gabriela Baczynska, Kate Abnett, Editing
by Catherine Evans)
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