Toulouse, 13 October 2020

The WTO has announced its decision that the European Union will be authorised to impose tariffs on USD 4 billion of US goods exported to the European Union every year. This follows four previous WTO panel and appellate reports from 2011 to 2019 confirming that subsidies to Boeing violate WTO rules. The decision finds that illegal subsidies to Boeing cost Airbus USD 4 billion dollars in lost sales and market share annually.

The EU Commission has already completed its public consultation on the planned countermeasures and has published the preliminary list of US products they will apply to, including Boeing aircraft.

“Airbus did not start this WTO dispute, and we do not wish to continue the harm to the customers and suppliers of the aviation industry and to all other sectors impacted,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO. “As we have already demonstrated, we remain prepared and ready to support a negotiation process that leads to a fair settlement. The WTO has now spoken, the EU can implement its countermeasures. It is time to find a solution now so that tariffs can be removed on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Airbus fully supports the EU Commission in taking the necessary action to create a level playing field and seek a long overdue agreement.