WTO backs EU tariffs on $4.0b US goods over Boeing subsidies

GENEVA, Sept 30 (Reuters): The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has authorised the European Union (EU) to impose tariffs on US goods worth $4.0 billion (£3.11 billion) to retaliate against subsidies for American planemaker Boeing Co, people familiar with the matter said.
The delayed award provides a fresh source of potential trade friction weeks before November's US presidential election, after Washington last year began imposing tariffs on $7.5 billion worth of EU goods over state support for Boeing rival Airbus.
The two sides have been locked in a 16-year-old dispute at the Geneva-based WTO over aid to their aircraft industries in a pair of cases that together represent the world's largest-ever corporate trade dispute.
They were informed of the decision by WTO arbitrators on Friday, and the award is expected to be published within weeks.
The US Trade Representative and the EU's Washington office did not immediately answer requests for comment.
Boeing declined to comment on the confidential WTO report but accused Airbus of ignoring its recent decision to forgo tax breaks in Washington state to try to resolve the dispute.
Airbus, which recently announced its own concessions on funding in France and Spain, was not immediately available. Sources on both sides said EU tariffs on products such as Boeing jets, which must still be adopted formally by the WTO, were unlikely to be imposed before the Nov 3 presidential election as Brussels seeks to avoid inflaming a bitter campaign.