WTO rules Boeing had illegal subsidies

Boeing’s flagship 787 Dreamliner has benefited from illegal US government subsidies that have distorted market competition, according to the World Trade Organisation.

The ruling, which would be formally published later in the spring of 2011, marks a key moment in a bitter six-year trade dispute that has pitched the European Union against the US over the funding of their respective aircraft makers.

In June 2010, the WTO ruled that Airbus, the Franco-German aircraft maker, had also benefited from illegal aid in the form of repayable loans linked to export sales in the development of its A380 superjumbo.

European Commission: DG Trade: Background Fact Sheet: WTO disputes EU/US Large Civil Aircraft, September 2010 http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2010/september/tradoc_146486.pdf

ESO: Background information: WTO backs Boeing in Airbus dispute / European countries rethink Airbus loans http://www.europeansources.info/record/wto-backs-boeing-in-airbus-dispute-european-countries-rethink-airbus-loans/

France24, 31.1.11: WTO report condemns Boeing subsidies from US government http://www.france24.com/en/20110131-wto-boeing-subsidies-airbus-us-eu-aviation-business

EurActiv, 1.2.11: WTO hands over report on Boeing subsidies http://www.euractiv.com/en/trade/wto-hands-report-boeing-subsidies-news-501759

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