EU tries to resolve Boeing-Airbus dispute (Agencies) Updated: 2005-05-30 18:30
European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has made a new offer to the
United States to cut government aid in a bid to resolve the simmering
Boeing-Airbus subsidy dispute, an EU official said Monday.
Mandelson's
spokeswoman Claude Veron-Reville said the EU trade chief phoned U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Portman last Friday, proposing that both sides cut part of
their subsidies to the aircraft makers immediately and discuss further aid cuts
later.
"We are proposing that there be an immediate cut in government support on
both sides, and after that further cuts," Veron-Reville said, adding that
Mandelson expects an answer from Portman in the coming days.
The dispute centers on aid or subsidies to the world's two biggest aircraft
makers and how it distorts the world market for planes. Both sides claim they
unfairly suffer commercial damage.
Negotiations that started Jan. 11 have so far failed to resolve the dispute.
U.S. officials have said they would not take the case to the World Trade
Organization unless Europe launches new development subsidies for Airbus. The EU
said it would take similar action against aid given to Boeing Co.
The 25-nation EU has warned that taking legal action at the WTO risked
prolonged trans-Atlantic political tensions and commercial uncertainty for both
companies.
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