US prepared to settle Boeing Airbus dispute with EU

(WASHINGTON) - The United States said Wednesday it was prepared to negotiate a settlement to a longstanding dispute with the EU over allegedly illegal state subsidies to Airbus if such aid was in line with global trade rules.

"We are more than happy to engage the European Union on a settlement of this ... but it has to be with an understanding that any aid is going to have to be WTO compliant," President Barack Obama's top trade official Ron Kirk told reporters.

Kirk, the US Trade Representative, said he and his counterpart, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, "have had conversation and will continue to have conversation about what is the most appropriate way to move forward."

He did not specify what the talks were about.

In a 1,200-page ruling made public in June on Washington's complaint, the World Trade Organization asked EU states to halt some aid for the development and export of Airbus airliners.

The global trade body notably accepted three out of seven claims by Washington that key launch aid amounted to export subsidies which are illegal under WTO rules.

WTO arbitrators had also found that 21 instances of support granted to Airbus for the launch of the its A300 aircraft series -- the company's commercial fleet -- amounted to subsidies as the interest rates levied were charged at below market rate.

The European Union appealed last week against the WTO's ruling.

"While the report sides with the EU in rejecting a significant number of US claims, there are other aspects of the report which need to be corrected or clarified," the EU had said in a statement.