Trade Rift Assurances Given

The U.S. and European Union said Monday that they were committed to negotiating a solution to a dispute over subsidies to aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing Co.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, meeting for the first time in Paris, “agreed that a negotiated solution remained the most desirable option,” the EU said in a statement. “They agreed to continue their dialogue.”

Former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick pulled the plug on U.S.-EU aircraft subsidy negotiations in March, saying the EU was reneging on an agreement to end aid to Airbus and Boeing. He threatened to litigate the case at the World Trade Organization.

Separately, Boeing said it was working from a short list of candidates for its chief executive position.

Chairman Lewis Platt said after Boeing’s annual shareholders meeting that the company was in no rush to appoint a permanent leader. Boeing fired former CEO Harry Stonecipher in March, saying his affair with a female executive broke company rules and damaged his leadership ability.

Platt declined to elaborate on the selection process but said Boeing was comfortable with the leadership provided by interim CEO James Bell.

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Bloomberg News and Reuters were used in compiling this report.