BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union said Monday that the World Trade Organization found U.S. aid to Boeing Co. violated international rules — claiming to have won the latest round in the long-running subsidy battle between the Chicago-based plane maker and European rival Airbus.
The EU said the WTO report confirmed a preliminary ruling on the case made in September. That ruling came months after the Geneva-based trade body faulted European governments for illegally supporting local aircraft maker Airbus.
“This solid report sheds further light on the negative consequences for the EU industry of these US subsidies and provides a timely element of balance in this long-running dispute,” EU trade spokesman John Clancy said in a statement.
The EU alleges that Boeing received almost $24 billion in illegal subsidies, such as research grants and free use of technology, from NASA, the Department of Defence, and the states of Illinois, Kansas and Washington. However, how much of this aid the WTO deemed illegal won’t be clear until Monday’s report is published some time this spring.
Boeing didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment on the report.
The Geneva-based trade body can’t force countries to eliminate subsidies, but it can authorize retaliatory tariffs against products from countries that fail to comply with rulings. But considering past delays and future appeals in the Airbus and Boeing cases that stage is likely years away.
The United States brought the dispute to the WTO in 2004, complaining that European governments supported Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., with billions of euros in illegal subsidies. It filed the case after pulling out of a 1992 agreement limiting subsidies in the aviation industry. Brussels responded with a countersuit against U.S. support for Boeing.
The WTO ruled last year that Europe’s “launch aid” to Airbus through virtually risk-free loans as well as infrastructure support, research and development funding and export subsidies from Britain, France, Germany and Spain broke international trade rules. Both the EU and the U.S. are appealing that case, in a public battle about who received more aid.
The dispute is central to future negotiations between the U.S. and the EU on subsidies in the aviation market, which could be worth some $3 billion over the next two decades. Airbus and Boeing are also vying to secure a $35 billion contract to sell refuelling jets to the U.S. Air Force.