The US and the European Union launched the biggest dispute in the history of the World Trade Organisation on Friday in an effort to end what each side said were massive subsidies to flagship civil aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus.
In a dispute settlement case filed at the Geneva headquarters of the WTO, the US alleged that Airbus had received at least $15bn (£8.4bn) in illegal “launch aid” from France, the UK, Germany and Spain, allowing it to overtake Boeing as the world's biggest aircraft maker. The US also said it would terminate a 1992 bilateral agreement that had curbed but not ended subsidies, alleging violations by the EU.
