Hold the 'Bus

Airbus, that is. Even though today marks the deadline for a U.S.-EU agreement on subsidies to aircraft manufacturers, no deal has been struck yet. Nonetheless, neither party expects to take the case to the World Trade Organization quite yet. At issue: government support for Airbus and Boeing. Both companies receive various forms of government support. But only Boeing can claim with a straight face that the U.S. government gets something for the money -- most of the "subsidies" come in the form of defense contracts. What to make of the decision not to go running to the WTO right away? Presumably the U.S. is holding back because we want to rebuild a more amicable relationship with Europe. The EU is almost certainly holding back because they know they would lose.

In a weekend that saw Charles and Camilla pledge everlasting marital fidelity to each other, you might think that we were all irony-ed out. Never fear. Just check out these three consecutive paragraphs from the Reuters article linked above:

"We hope it will be possible to continue negotiation. It is of course open for both the EU and the U.S. ... to refer the matter to the WTO. But in our opinion this is better avoided," said Simon Fraser, head of European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's cabinet.

"It is not the EU's intention to move first on WTO action," he told reporters in Brussels.

However, an aide to Mandelson noted that an agreed standstill on fresh aid to the aviation titans would lapse with the deadline on Monday, and EU member states could not negotiate indefinitely because Airbus is expected to seek "launch aid" loans for its new model, the A350.

Some people just never learn.