US Warns EU Loan to Airbus May Breach Trade Truce

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned on Monday that a record US$3.4 billion loan from the European Investment Bank to Airbus may violate the Large Civil Aircraft agreement and the existing transatlantic trade truce. Greer stated that his office has received no details regarding the June loan despite repeated requests, a lack of transparency that he claims creates uncertainty in the aerospace sector.

The dispute follows a July request from Boeing for the US government to demand more information about the financing, which some speculate will fund a new aircraft model. The tension threatens a 2021 truce intended to end a 17-year battle over aircraft subsidies that previously led to billions of dollars in mutual tariffs.

European officials have defended the transaction. European Investment Bank Vice President Ambroise Fayolle described the financing as unprecedented support for long-term research and innovation across commercial aviation and defense sectors. Airbus CFO Thomas Toepfer asserted the loan was taken at market level, while the European Investment Bank characterized the deal as a normal interest-bearing loan.