Talks to resolve a dispute between the EU and US over alleged unfair subsidies to plane maker Airbus ended in deadlock on Thursday, raising fears of a trade war between the two blocs.
The US may take the EU to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the issue, which comes as Airbus is battling for supremacy with its US rival Boeing. Yesterday the EU threatened to counter-sue.
After five hours of talks European commission officials warned mutual litigation could put at serious risk Boeing Co's plans to develop its 7E7 Dreamliner jet. The US manufacturer could be forced to repay billions of dollars in aid if the US lost any WTO case.
The dispute between Airbus and Boeing has been heightened by the US election campaign and the issue of jobs. John Veroneau, general counsel to US trade representative Robert Zoellick, expressed disappointment that the EU had failed to agree on the need to scrap all new subsidies for large civil aircraft. Visibly disgruntled by the European approach, he said the Airbus A380 was a direct competitor to the 7E7 and had received more aid.
"Logically, if anything, there would be much more justification for extra government support for Boeing," he said.
Trade officials from the EU said WTO litigation would damage Boeing since, unlike the A380 which is under construction, the 7E7 is in the development phase and WTO rulings do not apply retrospectively.
The US wants wholesale renegotiation of a 1992 agreement on state aid, drawn up when Airbus enjoyed a smaller market share than it does now. It argues that, now the two rivals have achieved parity in terms of sales, all subsidies should end.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
RSS