The 92 EU-US Agreement notes
Until the late 70s the US had an almost de facto monopoly in the Large Civil Aircraft (LCA) sector. The Airbus consortium (created in 1969) started competing effectively in the 80s. At that stage the US became concerned about the European competition and the alleged subsidies paid by the European governments for the developments of the early models of the Airbus family. This became a major issue of contention, as the European side was equally concerned by subsidies accruing to US LCA manufacturers through NASA and Defense programs.
The EU and the US started bilateral negotiations for the limitation of government subsidies to the LCA sector in the late 1980s. Negotiations were concluded in 1992 with the signature of the EC-US Agreement on Trade in Large Civil Aircraft which imposes disciplines on government support on both sides of the Atlantic which are significantly stricter than the relevant WTO rules: Notably, the Agreement regulates in detail the forms and limits of government support, prescribes transparency obligations and commits the parties to avoiding trade disputes.[12]
Subsidy disputes
In 2004 the EU and the US agreed to discuss a possible revision of the 1992 EU-US Agreement provided that this would cover all forms of subsidies including those used in the US, and in particular the subsidies for the Boeing 787; the first new aircraft to be launched by Boeing for 14 years. October 2004, the US began legal proceedings at the World Trade Organization by requesting WTO consultations on European launch investment to Airbus. The US also unilaterally withdrew from the 1992 EU-US Agreement.[13]
In October 2004, Boeing filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO), claiming that Airbus had violated a 1992 ...