EU, U.S. to Start Talks on Airbus, Boeing Aid

The European Union and the U.S. will start talks next week to seek a settlement on government subsidies to Airbus and Boeing Co., EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said.

“We’ve agreed to seek an elimination of all subsidies,” he said. “Whatever the outcome, it has to be a clear deal between what is allowed and what is not allowed to set a fair basis of competition between the two plane makers.”

As part of an accord announced last week, the U.S. and the EU agreed that neither Boeing nor Airbus would receive any new aid during the scheduled three-month discussions. They also agreed to seek to classify subsidies according to three categories: prohibited, actionable and permitted.