[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 30 (Thursday, March 16, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H1082-H1083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          END AIRBUS SUBSIDIES

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, it appears again that European governments 
may be ignoring their agreements to stop subsidizing Airbus. The 
British government's decision to make a loan of $868 million to Airbus 
for the development of another jumbo jet clearly flies in the face of 
the concept that the WTO rules are designed to end government subsidies 
to Airbus.
  Now, folks have argued that Airbus is an infant industry. It is not 
an infant,

[[Page H1083]]

it is not even an adolescent, it is a full adult competitor in the 
aircraft industry; and it ought to be treated as such.
  We have tools to stop these subsidies. The WTO was designed to stop 
these subsidies. We are urging our government to be as aggressive as 
possible to demand answers as to how such a loan would be made, because 
we believe it will be shown that this is not a loan that was 
commercially available. Had it been commercially available, it would be 
available through commercial outlets.
  This is a government acting as a venture capitalist for Airbus. We 
need to end these subsidies today.

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