The US complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over claimed unfair subsidies to Airbus for new aircraft development "may backfire onto US industry itself", says Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard, write Julian Moxon andGuy Norris.
"Japanese and Italian suppliers to the USA for the Boeing 7E7 programme could be among the first victims," he adds. In addition, there could be "collateral damage" resulting from the US move that could affect the supplier base of both Airbus and Boeing. He warns this could affect the $6 billion a year Airbus spends with US suppliers for its programmes.
Forgeard believes the first tangible result of the US move is visible in the decision by All Nippon Airways to opt for UK-built Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines over the General Electric GEnx to power its 50 Boeing 7E7s. "By choosing the US [GE] engine, ANA would be purchasing an all-US aircraft," he says, implying this could have left the airline vulnerable to potential WTO action.
A senior US congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, casts doubt on the value of the US move. Speaking at the delivery of the first Airbus A380 stairway, manufactured by California-based C&D Aerospace, he said: "I won't say Boeing is free from subsidies. We have to be fair and ensure we're setting the same standards for our companies...I am proud of the fact that 40% of this aviation achievement [the A380] is made in the USA."
The dispute comes as Boeing is close to signing up three Japanese companies as 7E7 suppliers. They have been accused by the European Union of being in line for up to $1.6 billion of government subsidies for the programme - putting them directly in the firing line for WTO action if the US case is proved.
Source: Flight International
