USTR Greer warns EU that loan to Airbus threatens trade truce on aircraft financing
BA•U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the EU’s $3.4 billion loan to Airbus threatens a transatlantic trade truce covering large civil aircraft financing, saying his office has received no details despite requests. The U.S. and EU extended their truce in July.
1. Loan raises concern
Greer said his office had received no details about the European Investment Bank’s $3.4 billion loan to Airbus, made in June, despite ongoing requests. He said the situation creates uncertainty for transatlantic aerospace trade and called for a resolution to ensure market-based production and avoid violating the large civil aircraft agreement.
2. Subsidy dispute history
The U.S. and EU fought a 17-year World Trade Organization battle over alleged aircraft subsidies before agreeing to a five-year truce in 2021, forestalling mutual tariffs on about $11.5 billion in trade. The truce was extended in July after the EU parliament approved a broader U.S. trade deal.
3. Responses to loan questions
The USTR is assessing whether the EIB loan would be considered an Airbus subsidy, as the WTO has found in the past on such loans. The EIB said the loan carries interest and is part of its overall financing activity; Airbus CFO Thomas Toepfer said in July it was taken out completely at market level.
