US warns $3.4bn Airbus loan could threaten EU trade truce

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has warned that a $3.4 billion European Investment Bank loan to Airbus could threaten the transatlantic trade truce, reopening tensions over government support for the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturers.

Greer said on Monday that his office had received no details of the financing despite repeated requests, according to a report carried by KuCoin. The European Investment Bank, the EU’s official lender, made the loan in June.

The US trade representative’s office is examining whether the loan’s terms amount to a subsidy. That scrutiny does not establish that the financing breaches the agreement, and both the lender and Airbus have previously defended its commercial terms.

Washington seeks details of financing

Greer said the lack of information created substantial uncertainty for transatlantic aerospace trade. He called for a swift resolution to preserve market-driven aircraft production and avoid a breach of the agreement governing large civil aircraft financing.

Boeing asked the US government in July to seek greater transparency about the loan. There was speculation at the time that Airbus would use the money to develop a new aircraft model, but the supplied account does not establish that as its intended purpose.

The distinction between ordinary commercial lending and preferential state support is central to the dispute. Washington is questioning the terms of this loan, rather than announcing a finding that Airbus has received an unlawful subsidy.

Airbus and lender defend commercial terms

The European Investment Bank said in July that it finances thousands of companies each year and denied providing Airbus with unusual support. A spokesperson described the financing as a normal interest-bearing loan within the bank’s regular activities.

Airbus chief financial officer Thomas Toepfer also told reporters in London in July that the company had obtained the loan on market terms.

Airbus and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday about Greer’s statement.

A long-running tariff dispute

The US and EU agreed a five-year truce in 2021 after a 17-year World Trade Organization dispute over alleged aircraft subsidies. Both sides won parts of that dispute, which concerned support for Airbus and Boeing.

The truce suspended reciprocal tariffs covering about $11.5 billion in trade. It was extended in July following European Parliament approval of a wider trade agreement with the US, according to the report.

Greer’s warning puts the treatment of aircraft financing back at the centre of that settlement. Whether the Airbus loan qualifies as a subsidy remains under US examination; the reported warning did not announce a new tariff measure.