The US has launched a new front in its trade battles with China, accusing Beijing of giving unfair tax breaks to domestic plane producers in a sign of Washington’s anxiety over China’s nascent aircraft industry.
US officials said yesterday they had filed a request for consultations with Beijing over a value added tax exemption that is given to domestic aircraft manufacturers but not foreign ones. The move is the first step in bringing a case at the World Trade Organisation, the Geneva-based adjudicator of global trading rules.
The EU and US have battled for years at the WTO over state programmes designed to benefit aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. But yesterday’s launch marks the first case brought anywhere against China over commercial aircraft.