Just the Facts Please, EADS Argues in Rebuttal to Boeing Subsidy Claims
Boeing's claims about Airbus subsidies may make nice rhetoric. There's just one problem: they don't reflect the facts, maintains Ralph Crosby, who runs EADS North America's operation.
Boeing is trying to undo a 1992 agreement between the United States and European Union regulating government support of its aerospace industry. "There is a lot of noise about an issue that is poorly understood," Crosby says.
Nothing has really changed structurally between the U.S. and EU to prompt changes, he argues. The U.S. government still aids its industry through NASA and Pentagon contracts, which are basically balanced out by the government loans Airbus is entitled to.
Moreover, the rules as they were established are being adhered to, he stresses. Loans are being repaid by the European aircraft maker, he insists. Moreover, he adds, while the loans come from the government, they are basically structured on commercial terms.
Crosby also rebuts the claims that the loans represent a massive financial aid package. If the $4.3 billion in loans EADS carries on its balance sheet were amortized over aircraft being sold, it would amount to $140,000 per aircraft, hardly a significant sum when one is talking about million-dollar airliners.
Boeing allies have also advanced claims that EADS and Airbus are artificially inflating the number of jobs they create in the U.S. There are in fact several ways to slice the pie, Crosby concedes. EADS has about 2,300 direct jobs. However, it creates plenty more with the $6 billion in annual business it conducts in the U.S. EADS estimates the total at more than 100,000-a figure the U.S. government hasn't validated.
Boeing backers also want EADS to back up its claims with data. EADS
is skirting that issue, arguing that much of the relevant information
on loans and jobs is tied directly to proprietary agreements the
company has. He insists "there is nothing nefarious about this."
