Airbus to seek loan for airplane.(BUSINESS)

0 Comments | Washington Times, The, October, 2004

Byline: Jeffrey Sparshott, THE WASHINGTON TIMES European aircraft-maker Airbus plans to ask for government-subsidized loans worth up to $1.24 billion for a new airplane, a request that "confirms the necessity" of a World Trade Organization case filed this month by the Bush administration, a U.S.

trade official said yesterday. "We warned that this would happen. This puts the truth to it," said Neena Moorjani, spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's Office. The United States and the European Union swapped suits at the WTO Oct. 6, each accusing the other of illegally subsidizing domestic aircraft manufacturers. European consortium Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing had operated under a 1992 agreement that allowed a set level of subsidies. But the...