On the Record with JOHN W. DOUGLASS, PRESIDENT & CEO, AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION
"If anybody asks me should Airbus ever be allowed to build
an American tanker I would tell you no, they shouldn't waste their
money on a bid."
That's the unequivocal opinion of John W Douglass, president and
CEO of the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association.
"I am an unabashed supporter of Boeing building American
tankers," he told Show News. "The American aerospace
industry right now needs the business. There are certain national
programs that are important for the industrial base of those nations,"
and this is one of them.
Douglass maintained that because politics in Washington and the
long-term goals of the military would never allow Airbus to win,
it shouldn't be encouraged-or even allowed-to compete. "I
would not like to see Airbus waste its money being led down the
primrose path only to see the door slam shut in its face."
In contrast, Pratt & Whitney shouldn't have been set up as
the straw man to drive the engine cost down on the Airbus A400M,
Douglass said. Pratt was beaten in an 11th hour decision-purely
political, according to U.S. politicians-by a consortium of European
engine manufacturers who reduced their price only when told the
U.S. company was in the lead.
If Europe had the same view on the A400M that the U.S. does on
its tankers, then it should have said so, Douglass maintained.
"Much better to say that than 'Come on in and compete,' then
tell the low bidder 'We have to give it to our local guys because
the French wont buy the plane if it doesn't have their engine
on it.'"
There are times with defense programs where politics are not going
to let the product go offshore, "and we should be quite honest
about that," Douglass said.
He noted that political tensions between U.S. and continental
European countries are running at the highest since the Cold War,
following France and Germany's refusal to support the U.S. position
on Iraq. Europe's subsequent launch of the A400M, the snubbing
of Pratt & Whitney over its engines, and the go-ahead for
the Galileo global positioning satellite system (which U.S. competitors
consider duplicative, unnecessary and wasteful of resources) are
all major irritants.
But in discussing transatlantic relations-and AIA has members
on both sides of the pond-Douglass is rather more pragmatic than
his stand on the tankers would suggest. His most common phrase
as he discusses the issues is 'on the other hand'
America is irritated that Europe lags in defense spending,
but on the other hand it is irritated when it makes major investments
in new programs such as A400Ms and Galileos, as well as Meteor
missiles, that will compete with U.S. products;
U.S. industry would rather see available European funding go
into jointly developed products, but on the other hand America
won't allow equal sharing of its technology;
American politicians believe interoperability among allies
can be achieved through buying American, but on the other hand
Europe sees that notion as a threat to its technical and industrial
base;
U.S. industry complains about a 'buy European' attitude in
Europe but on the other hand is resisting encroachment on its
own markets. "Europe right now doesn't have enough defense
business to maintain a competitive industrial base; it depends
on civil/military integration and a large chunk of the U.S. civil
market to support it," said Douglass. "That's fair.
But we just need to recognize those facts." To many U.S.
politicians it appears to be a case of Europe having its cake
and eating it, too.
And on Galileo, Douglass said political tensions underscore
Europe's assertion that it cannot rely on the goodwill of the
U.S. for crucial GPS navigation signals. But on the other hand
America has never turned off or degraded the signal, and due to
its civil importance around the world is unlikely to do so.
With the exception of British companies, Europe should forget
about winning much defense business in the U.S. in the current
political environment, Douglass added. But on the other hand "we've
been friends for hundreds of years and disagreed over some things,
but we've always maintained that friendship.
"We're trying to view all this from both sides and find the common ground
that lets us sell each others' products in a way that works for
our governments on both sides."
