The US and Europe, embroiled in perhaps the biggest commercial dispute ever, may be unable to reach a settlement on government support for rival plane makers Boeing Co and Airbus for another two years, or even longer, the EU trade chief said on Tuesday.
Peter Mandelson told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, that several "good faith attempts" have failed to resolve the trans-Atlantic impasse over alleged plane subsidies, which are being investigated by two WTO legal panels and tested relations between the two commercial giants.
"The US has denied there are any subsidies provided to Boeing, while at the same time demanding as a precondition that the EU put an end to European support to Airbus," Mandelson said. "You will appreciate that on this basis it has not been possible to establish a fair and balanced basis for a negotiated settlement."
The dispute, expected to be the most complicated and costly in the WTO's 12-year history, rests on the ability of Washington and Brussels to show that the alleged subsidies have harmed their industries. Both have presented evidence of lost plane sales or lowered prices to back up their claims.
Globally, the market for planes is worth an estimated US$3 trillion over the next two decades.
The office of the US Trade Representative said it was still hoping for a negotiated settlement that eliminates all WTO-inconsistent subsidies.
"Meanwhile, we remain confident in a favorable outcome through litigation," spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said.
Mandelson said the differences between the two sides have been too big to resolve and that he was "skeptical whether this dispute can be resolved at the negotiating table any time soon."
The US accuses Airbus of taking advantage of decades of European subsidies worth the equivalent of up to US$205 billion to capture long-standing Boeing customers and become the world's largest seller of planes.
The EU, meanwhile, refers to tax breaks, development funding and outright grants to Boeing as examples of wrongdoing by the US government and the states of Illinois, Kansas and Washington. It also accuses the US of providing hidden support to Chicago-based Boeing through military contracts, citing a total subsidy figure through 2024 of US$23.6 billion.
An interim ruling in Washington's WTO case against Brussels was scheduled for last month, but has been delayed probably until early next year. A decision on the EU's complaint is not expected until the middle of next year. Both would be subject to appeals.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS