The US government plans "aggressive" opposition to the $3.5 billion in European Union (EU)-backed loans to Airbus to support A380 development, says a senior government official.
Speaking in Brussels last week, US deputy secretary of commerce Samuel Bodman said the issue of A380 launch aid could be brought before the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
"The US government does not provide market financing to Boeing for the development of a specific product, and the European governments have decided to do that. I don't think that's fair," said Bodman. "We'll be quite aggressive about it in making our views known. The WTO would be one way to resolve it."
Under the 1992 EU/US large aircraft agreement, governments can provide manufacturers with loans on a commercial basis for up to 33% of the cost of developing a new airliner. Airbus's A380 development programme is estimated to cost $11 billion. The Commerce Department declines to elaborate on what the USA believes is wrong with the loans.
In a recent WTO decision, the US government was found to have given US exporters, led by Boeing, massive illegal tax breaks. The ruling opened the way for the EU to impose $4 billion in sanctions on US companies.
"This is a red herring brought about because Boeing is losing market share," says Airbus North America chairman Allan McArtor. "Rather than fix their own problems they would rather point the finger and say Airbus is out of bounds. This is a political issue with no substance."
McArtor says the A380 loans are "not subsidies" and "fall within the guidelines negotiated by the EU and the USA" in 1992.
Source: Flight International
