Boeing urges US to scrutinize EU loan backing Airbus
According to a Reuters
report, Boeing requested the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to
obtain a full explanation of the loan's terms and assess whether it complies
with the 2021 US-EU agreement that paused retaliatory measures stemming from a
17-year World Trade Organization dispute over aircraft subsidies.
The financing package,
announced by the EIB in late June, is the largest corporate loan the bank has
provided to Airbus. Boeing questioned the timing of the decision, noting that
it came just days after Washington and Brussels agreed to extend their subsidy
truce indefinitely.
US Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer said the administration is reviewing the loan and has already
raised the issue with European officials. He said Boeing should not have to
compete against a rival benefiting from what it considers unfair financial
support.
The EIB rejected those
concerns, saying the financing is a standard commercial loan carrying
market-rate interest and forms part of its regular lending activities. Airbus
Chief Financial Officer Thomas Toepfer also said the loans were secured
entirely on market terms.
The dispute comes as
Airbus prepares for its next phase of aircraft development. The European
manufacturer has indicated it could begin developing a successor to its
best-selling A320neo family around 2030, with the project internally known as
"eAction."
Boeing argued that the
scale and timing of the financing raise questions about whether the package
could support the launch of a new aircraft program.
