| Boeing blamed for US job loss |
PARIS European planemaker Airbus and US rival Boeing traded stinging barbs on Wednesday over controversial government support for aircraft development, accusing each other of bending the rules.
Airbus was first out of the blocks, rejecting claims by its arch-rival that it had caused job losses in the US, arguing that Boeing itself was responsible for destroying employment.
“Boeing repeats its old standby that European reimbursable loans destroyed jobs in America,” Airbus said in a statement issued after it unveiled plans Monday to open a factory on Boeing’s home turf.
“The WTO (World Trade Organisation) dismissed such claims and has specifically found that Boeing’s own management decisions and its outsourcing/offshoring policy were exclusively responsible for American job losses,” it said.
Boeing responded in kind, charging Airbus with getting six times the government subsidies it had received.
WTO findings “were crystal clear,” it said. “$3 billion of subsidies not already corrected against Boeing versus $18 billion of subsidies against Airbus.”
It said it would “support whatever steps the US government deems necessary to fulfill its WTO obligations. We expect the same commitment to compliance from Airbus and the European Union. “Yet they have singularly failed to meet the WTO requirement to remove outstanding illegal subsidies or their adverse effects,” it said.
Worse still, Boeing charged that Airbus was continuing to get similar subsidies for its new wide-bodied A350 plane, aimed to compete directly with its own 787 Dreamline.
“Airbus and the EU must take immediate steps to comply with the WTO’s ruling to deal with outstanding subsidies and it must finance the A350 and all other future programs on commercial terms,” it said.
Boeing and Airbus, which dominate the global aircraft business, have been at odds for years over subsidies they receive from their government backers, and both have won and lost complaints filed against the other at the WTO.
Agencies
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