Europe does not want a 'tit-for-tat' trade dispute with US over subsidies

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, commenting on the European Commission's decision to launch a public consultation over countermeasures for US subsidies to Boeing, stated (17-Apr-2019) European companies "must be able to compete on fair and equal terms", and the recent WTO ruling on US subsidies for Boeing is "important in this respect". According to Ms Malmström, the WTO's final compliance report in the Boeing dispute confirmed US subsidies to the manufacturer continue to cause significant harm to Airbus, including lost sales. Ms Malmström said the EU must "continue to defend a level-playing field for our industry" but Europe does not want a "tit-for-tat" battle and she believes that "dialogue is what should prevail between important partners such as the EU and the US, including in bringing an end to this long-standing dispute". Based on the EU's request for countermeasures on items that represent around USD20 billion of US exports into the EU, it remains for a WTO appointed arbitrator to determine the exact appropriate level of countermeasures. [more - original PR]