WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The World Trade  Organization ruled yesterday that European loans for Airbus  were illegal subsidies under world trade rules, U.S. lawmakers  said, but European sources said Washington did not win a  sweeping victory.

The findings, which came in a confidential 1,000-plus page  ruling, are the latest chapter in a decades-old battle between  U.S. manufacturer Boeing and European rival Airbus for  dominance of the global aircraft market, a major source of jobs  on both sides of the Atlantic.

The decision, which will not be made public for months, was  handed out to the United States and the European Union at WTO  headquarters in Geneva.