Airbus’s decision to shut production of the A380 looks set to reignite a transatlantic trade row over mutual claims of illegal aircraft subsidies, even as Airbus implements a two-year plan to stop making the world’s largest airliner.
The planemaker announced the shutdown on Thursday due to weak sales, eliminating a model at the heart of a record trade dispute between the European Union and United States over government support for Airbus and its US rival Boeing.
After 15 years and thousands of pages of arguments, the two sides are locked in arbitration proceedings at the Geneva-based World Trade Organization to determine the amount of harm each has caused through support, a possible precursor to sanctions.
