[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23246]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         LEGALITY OF AIRBUS SAS

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                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 2004

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for President 
Bush's decision to seek a ruling from the World Trade Organization 
regarding the legality of subsidies to Airbus SAS from various European 
governments, as well as his decision to withdraw from the 1992 
agreement in which the United States agreed to allow a reasonable 
amount of these subsidies.
  Twelve years later it is clear that this aid, particularly launch 
assistance, has done tremendous harm to fair and open competition in 
the large aircraft marketplace.
  It is unfortunate that this pact withdrawal and appeal to the WTO was 
necessary. However, our friends and allies across the Atlantic chose 
not to recognize that Airbus SAS is now a profitable company and that 
they no longer need this overly generous government assistance.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a step towards creating a level playing field 
for America's workers in the aviation manufacturing industry.
  I commend the President for taking this important step and I look 
forward to this Congress continuing to work with the administration to 
ensure that the men and women of our aircraft manufacturing workforce--
the finest in the world--are able to continue to compete in the global 
market.

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