The World Trade Organization (WTO) said today that it had upheld for the most part a ruling that Boeing received billions of dollars of subsidies to compete with Europe's Airbus, as both sides once again claimed victory in the long-running trade row.
The subsidies included at least $2.6 billion in assistance from US space agency NASA, which the WTO's appellate body agreed had allowed Boeing to launch the 787, causing what it described as "serious prejudice" to its European rival. The ruling is the latest step in a seven-year dispute involving mutual claims of aid for the world's dominant OEMs and could theoretically lead to retaliation on both sides once the Geneva trade body's procedures are exhausted. The European Commission welcomed the WTO ruling, saying it confirmed billions of dollars in US subsidies to Boeing were illegal under WTO rules. "Today's ruling vindicates the EU's long-held claims that Boeing has received massive US government hand-outs in the past and continues to do so today", said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. The response came as the US took the opposite view, saying the WTO decision confirmed that Europe's unfair trade subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus had dwarfed US aid to Boeing.