Boeing welcomes US-EU accord, vows to uphold rules

Boeing said Tuesday it "welcomes" a truce between the United States and the European Union on a long-running trade dispute over subsidies to the US plane maker and archrival Airbus.

"The understanding reached today commits the EU to addressing launch aid, and leaves in place the necessary rules to ensure that the EU and United States live up to that commitment," Boeing said.

"Boeing will fully support the US government's efforts to ensure that the principles in this understanding are respected."


Negotiated in marathon talks by EU and US officials, the truce to the 17-year fight was formalized in US President Joe Biden's summit with European Union leaders Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, who hosted him in Brussels.

The EU said the truce was set for five years, leaving enough time to resolve the fight, which had led to tariffs on European cheese and wine and American wheat and tobacco, as well as on aircraft.

Boeing's comments came after Airbus earlier praised the deal, saying it said would "provide the basis to create a level-playing field."

The agreement should give a boost to the aerospace giants as the travel industry recovers from Covid-19.

However, one stated aim of the US-EU accord is to provide a unified front against China, another key market for both Boeing and Airbus.

China remains the only major country not yet to approve the Boeing 737 MAX to resume service following a lengthy grounding after two deadly crashes.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun has repeatedly called for a reset of US-China relations, saying earlier this month that Boeing's plans to ramp up MAX production were tied to whether China plane deliveries resume.

"It's going to create real issues for us in the next couple of years if we can't thaw out some of that trade structure," Calhoun said at a financial conference earlier this month.