In its compliance report regarding its judgment on the complaint brought by the United States over EU support to its aircraft manufacturer Airbus (DS 316), which was published on Thursday 22 September, the WTO panel tasked with ruling on the dispute found that the EU had not complied with its earlier judgment, as it was continuing to pay Airbus subsidies in the form of loans, that cost the American manufacturer Boeing sales and seriously harmed the interests of the United States (see EUROPE 10587).
The United States hailed the decision as a major victory, calling on the EU immediately to cease paying Airbus aid which they believe could run to as much as $22 billion. Washington warned that it may enter a claim for up to $10 billion a year in compensation. The American Trade Representative, Michael Froman, did not, however, mention any possible trade retaliation measures against the European partners as the WTO's judgment has still to be formally adopted and the EU is entitled to lodge an appeal against it within 20 days.
For its part, speaking through the Commission, the EU stressed the importance of reading the conclusions of this report in the broader context of two other WTO decisions expected in the coming months: specifically, a compliance report on the United States with regard to the WTO verdict on the EU's complaint about aid to Boeing (DS 353) and a verdict on another EU appeal against massive state subsidies from Washington to Boeing (DS 487).
The EU described it as an important victory, referring to the fact that the WTO panel had dismissed American allegations that the EU's reimbursable support to develop the medium-haul aircraft A350 and the wide-bodied aircraft A380 constituted "prohibited subsidies". It also welcomed the fact that the WTO panel had taken note of the fact that all of the earlier reimbursable support for other aircraft, such as the A320, had come to an end.
On the other hand, the EU considers that certain other findings of the panel are "unsatisfactory" and reserves the right to appeal. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)