EU files tactical appeal in subsidies case against Boeing

Geneva/Brussels: In a tactical move the European Union filed an appeal against a ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in an aircraft subsidies case involving global aerospace giants Boeing and European firm Airbus. The appeal was filed by way of a tactical move to hasten the process of arriving at final ruling in a dispute that has dragged on for six long years.

Europe's appeal came after the WTO ruled Boeing had received at least $5.3 billion in subsidies that were against the organisation's rules. The ruling was immediately hailed as a "crystal-clear" win by the European Commission.

Washington tried to dampen EU enthusiasm by also claiming victory in comparing the verdict to recent WTO ruling against Airbus, where the US points out a case was made out that the EU nations provided even larger European subsidies to Airbus.

The little drama being played out here is that the ruing on EU aid to Airbus, the case as lodged by the United States, has come in several months ahead of the case against US aid to Boeing. This creates a fear in European minds that Airbus could be compelled to stop receiving disputed aid months before its US rival. The EU's appeal on Friday was a quick move aimed at closing that gap.

According to rules, though both sides have 30 days to appeal, but once such an appeal is made the other must decide whether to respond in five days. So an early EU appeal forces Boeing to respond early.

"The EU's victory in this case against Boeing remains very clear for all to see. However, the EU has chosen to quickly appeal technical elements of the ruling for legal strategic reasons -- including to reduce what has been a growing time gap between the two parallel aircraft disputes," said John Clancy, EU trade spokesman.