Airbus and Some EU Member States Agree to Make Amendments to RLI Loans --Update

Adds detail, context.

 
   By Alberto Delclaux 
 

Airbus SE (AIR.FR) said Tuesday that it has agreed, alongside France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., to make amendments to its reimbursable-launch-investment loans for its A380 and A350XWB aircraft in order to comply with World Trade Organization rules.

As a result, the European Union has notified the WTO of an additional set of compliance measures, Airbus said. The terms of the amendments are confidential, but Airbus says that they are aligned with current market conditions.

Last Tuesday, the WTO said that the EU and the four member states "failed to comply with an earlier WTO panel ruling by maintaining illegal subsidies for the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus." The violations are linked to favorable loans granted to Airbus for the above-mentioned A380 superjumbo and the A350 long-range-jet.

"We are confident that we have now achieved full compliance in the DS316 case as a clear demonstration of the will to ensure a fair trade environment respecting international trade agreement," said Airbus General Counsel John Harrison, adding that he expects the same constructive attitude from Boeing Co. (BA) and the U.S. in the upcoming DS353 case.

The WTO is expected to issue a ruling on that case--over U.S. subsidies given to Boeing--in the coming months.

Write to Alberto Delclaux at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 22, 2018 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT)

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