Confidential Verdict by WTO; Could Affect Canada’s Aerospace Industry

(Francois Shalon — Montreal Gazette)

No one is saying a word – not Boeing, not Airbus, not the U.S., nor any European government – about a confidential ruling on aircraft subsidies that was handed out Friday to a tightly restricted circle and marked for their eyes only.

But whatever is in that 1,000-page World Trade Organization verdict will almost certainly have important repercussions on Canada's large aerospace industry. In particular, the ruling might force changes in how governments – especially Ottawa and Quebec – fund programs for the Montreal mainframers, notably Bombardier Inc., but also Pratt & Whitney Canada, Bell Helicopter and CAE Inc.

The issue is one of the most complex and lengthy cases the WTO or its predecessor has heard, and it concerns mutual accusations between Boeing Co. and Airbus – or more accurately, between the U.S. and the European Union – about alleged unfair and damaging subsidies to those two companies. Read more here.