Subsidies gripe goes to WTO

The EU opened a new front in a decade-old dispute over aircraft subsidies on Friday, launching a complaint at the World Trade Organisation alleging illegal tax breaks in Boeing’s home state of Washington. The EU said the Pacific coast state, historically the base for nearly all of Boeing’s plane manufacturing, broke global trade rules by offering tax incentives to persuade the company to manufacture its latest model, the 777X, there. The EU and US have yet to resolve two parallel clashes involving mutual accusations of illegal subsidies for Boeing and its European rival Airbus, collectively the biggest and longest-running dispute in the WTO’s history. – Reuters