WTO slams EU aid for Airbus
The World Trade Organisation judges gave the European Union a stinging rebuke yesterday, saying the EU must axe prohibited export subsidies to plane-maker Airbus which had injured US rival Boeing. The WTO panel concluded Airbus had been able to launch a series of passenger jets only thanks to subsidies from the EU and member states Britain, France, Germany and Spain, without which it would be a very different and much weaker company. The ruling marks a big setback for Airbus, but is not the end of its battle – the world’s largest and costliest trade dispute – with Boeing over subsidies in the market for large civil aircraft worth $3 trillion over the next 20 years. “These subsidies have greatly harmed the US,” the WTO said.