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.
