The World Trade Organization (WTO) said Thursday that the European Union is seeking 12 billion dollars in annual trade sanctions against the United States as part of the a long-running dispute over subsidies for aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus.
The WTO said it had received a request from the EU to approve the
sanction in retaliation for the US failing to halt illegal subsidies
to Boeing.
The EU wants to suspend tariff concessions on US goods as a form
of retaliation, an official in Geneva with knowlegde of the complaint
said on condition of anonymity.
The move by the EU follows the US assertion on Sunday that it was
in full compliance of WTO rulings. The Geneva-based trade body found
in March that US states and government institutions have aided Boeing
with several billion dollars worth of illegal subsidies.
The WTO has issued a similar ruling against the EU for its support
for Airbus. The EU and the US have been feuding over subsidies for
Airbus and Boeing since 2004.
