2004-11-11
This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.
America's biggest exporter is Boeing. It is easy to understand
why. Have you ever looked at airplane prices? A big jet plane can
cost well over a hundred million dollars.
In fact, trade in civilian planes is so important, it is one of
fifteen main areas of negotiation for the World Trade Organization.
It is also a cause of tensions between the United States and the
European Union.
The biggest competitor to Boeing is Airbus. E.A.D.S., the
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, owns eighty percent
of Airbus. B.A.E. Systems of Britain owns twenty percent.
Last Friday, the European Union requested talks with American
officials over a new tax law for companies in the United States.
Congress passed the measure last month, and President Bush signed
it. It is called the "American Jobs Creation Act of Two Thousand
Four."
Exporters like Boeing lose a tax cut that the World Trade
Organization had declared illegal. This makes the European Union
happy. But the tax cut will not end for three years. And the law
provides other tax cuts for many kinds of industries.
Now the European Union is questioning the legality of the new
law. Some observers say the Europeans are reacting to a case brought
last month by the United States in the World Trade Organization.
On October sixth, the United States asked the W.T.O. to ban
government aid to Airbus. American officials say the European Union
unfairly provides loans and other support.
On the same day, the European Union answered by asking the W.T.O.
to ban government support to Boeing. The Europeans say Boeing
receives several forms of aid that represent illegal subsidies. For
example, they say Boeing receives special tax treatment from states
where it has factories.
At the root of the problem is a nineteen ninety-two agreement
between the United States and the European Union. It ended direct
aid for Airbus. But it permitted Airbus to receive help such as
long-term loans at low rates of interest. At the time, Airbus was
still developing its business. Last year, for the first time, it
built more planes than Boeing.
Airbus uses the loans to develop new airplanes. The United States
calls this "launch aid." The American trade representative says
Airbus received more than six thousand million dollars this way for
its newest plane, the huge A-Three-Eighty.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.