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WTO agrees to probe US support for Boeing

31 Oct 2012

GENEVA - The World Trade Organisation agreed on Tuesday to investigate whether the United States has withdrawn billions of dollars of subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Boeing, in response to a request from the European Union.

The WTO also said it would arbitrate an EU request for counter-measures against the US totalling $12bn a year.

The development followed US notification to the Geneva-based trade arbiter in September that it had withdrawn aid to its large civil aircraft industry, in accordance with a WTO ruling issued in March.

Under WTO rules, member countries cannot ignore these rulings made on appeal and must apply them.

But the EU insists that the US has not complied fully with the ruling. As a result, the EU requested a panel of WTO experts to investigate and report on US compliance.

According to a source close to the WTO, the counter-measures requested by the EU were consistent with the "unprecedented amount of subsidisation" of US aircraft.

For its part, the US did not object to the EU request for arbitration at the WTO, although it baulked at the level of proposed sanctions and at the imposition of a "facilitator" to gather information concerning the "serious prejudice" caused by the subsidies.

Source: AFP via I-NET Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

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