US trade chief warns Airbus loan could jeopardise US-EU tariff truce

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who handles trade policy in President Donald Trump's administration, warned on Monday that the tariff truce between the United States and the European Union could be at risk. The cause is a loan of three billion euros ($3.4 billion) that the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's investment financing institution, approved this summer for aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Greer said his office had received "no details about this loan" and called for the issue to be resolved as soon as possible. He said he had sincerely hoped that trade-distorting European subsidies to Airbus were a thing of the past, and that the situation creates substantial uncertainty for transatlantic trade in the aerospace sector.

What the EIB said in June

In June, the EIB announced it would give Airbus record financing for research and development. EIB vice president Ambroise Fayolle told AFP at the time that the financing was unprecedented in the bank's history. According to him, it gives Airbus not only the capacity but also the flexibility to invest in long-term research, development and innovation in both commercial aviation and the security and defence sectors.

A long-running dispute

The US and the EU have argued since 2004 over alleged unfair trade practices. Each side claimed the other supported private companies, including aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus, in violation of international trade agreements. During the 17-year feud, both sides imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of each other's goods.

In 2021, under then-President Joe Biden's administration, the two sides agreed a five-year deal. Neither side has reimposed the tariffs since.