Ryanair to ask Boeing to 'eat' any EU tariffs in jet trade war

The head of Ireland’s Ryanair Tuesday urged the US and EU to pull back from a tariff war over aircraft subsidies and said he would ask Boeing to “eat” any counter-tariffs imposed on the US firm by the EU. The WTO is expected to give the green light this week to US tariffs on billions of dollars of European goods, including Airbus jets, in a move likely to be mirrored by European tariffs on US planes and goods next year. “The US can’t afford to have a trade war,” said Ryanair Group CE Michael O’Leary, whose company’s main airline is one of Boeing’s largest customers. “Boeing is one of its biggest manufacturers and biggest exporters, but something needs to be resolved so I think like most airlines we sit there and hope common sense will prevail at the end of the day, but we don’t know how it plays out,” O’Leary said. The WTO is expected to publish in the coming days a report by an arbitration tribunal opening the door to US tariffs due to illegal European subsidies for Airbus. A similar WTO report backing EU tariffs in a parallel case over Boeing subsidies is expected early next year.<br/>