The World Trade Organisation has found that the European Union is continuing to provide subsidies to the Airbus aerospace corporation, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. There have been no immediate comments by Brussels or the plane maker in regards to the emerged reports.
The development comes more than a month after the US announced its intention to levy EU exports after the WTO established that the bloc had offered excessive subsidies to the aircraft manufacturer. The WTO ruled that the subsidies are hurting the US company Boeing, effectively greenlighting the tariff imposition.
The EU is seeking to retaliate against US tariffs that have affected European agriculture in early 2020, upon authorisation by the WTO.
Airbus-Boeing Spat
The latest spike of tensions between the US and the EU comes amid a longstanding conflict between the two major plane makers that began in 2004.
The US accused several European nations of funnelling illegal subsidies into Airbus, which prompted the EU to strike back and similarly accuse the United States of providing illicit funds to Boeing for over a decade.
Earlier this year, the WTO decreed that Washington had failed to withdraw all of its prohibited subsidies.
