Delivering final word in a nearly 14-year standoff, a World Trade Organization body has ruled that Boeing received an illegal U.S. tax break from Washington state that damaged sales by European archrival Airbus.
The decision by the WTO’s appellate body considered whether the United States had complied with a 2012 ruling that found that plane-maker and defense company Boeing received at least $5 billion in subsidies prohibited under international trade rules.
But the ruling was limited. Except for the relatively small Washington state tax program – which the U.S. says was worth just $100 million a year – Thursday’s decision found no grounds upon which the European bloc could seek damages from an arbitrator.
The verdict – one of several disputes pitting Boeing and Airbus in recent years – comes as Boeing has been facing concerns over its 737 Max aircraft following a fatal crash in Ethiopia this month and another off the coast of Indonesia last year. And the Trump administration has taken a hard line against the Geneva-based WTO over administration allegations that the trade body’s rulings are unfair to the United States.
Both sides – as has often been the case in such high-stake standoffs – claimed “a major win” from Thursday’s ruling.