Biden trade pick will seek end to Boeing-Airbus dispute

President Joe Biden's pick to be the top US trade negotiator said Thursday she will seek to find a solution to the costly, longstanding fight over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus. The 16-year-old trans-Atlantic conflict over government aid to the competing aircraft manufacturers has seen Brussels and Washington each impose punitive tariffs, including US duties on a record US$7.5b in European goods authorized by the WTO in 2019. "I would very much be interested in figuring out, pardon the pun, how to land this particular plane because it has been going on for a very long time," Katherine Tai told senators during her confirmation hearing to serve as US Trade Representative. Tai acknowledged the "disruption and the pain" the tariffs cause, but said that is how the WTO process is designed to work. Each side has won WTO rulings in the aviation dispute that authorized punitive tariffs.<br/>