Skift Take
The change in the Airbus/Boeing competition will likely come not through the WTO or a temporary hiccup like the German's withholding a bit of cash, but pressure from emerging nations like Brazil and China so that it's no longer a U.S. vs. Europe concern.
After dickering for seven years before the World Trade Organization, the Boeing Co. and its European rival, Airbus, finally got some action.
Not from the WTO. Germany did the trade group's job for it.
The heart of this long-running trade dispute is "launch aid," the subsidized loans that Airbus gets from its government backers in Germany, Britain, France and Spain. Because of their size and impact, these loans distort the market for commercial passenger jets more than any other subsidy. Boeing brought its case before the WTO in 2005 mainly to target the loans.
The nations backing Airbus have promised billions in launch aid to support a jet called the A350, despite WTO findings against previous sweetheart loans they
