By Michelle Dunlop - Aerospace Blog
Boeing Machinists are stepping up their rhetoric over the Air Force tanker competition which is expected to get underway shortly. The World Trade Organization recently sided with Boeing in a preliminary ruling against Airbus over unfair launch aid from European governments for commercial jets.
The Machinists have sent President Barack Obama a letter encouraging him to ensure the Air Force takes into account a recent trade ruling against Airbus when awarding the $35 billion tanker contract.
Airbus cannot be allowed to cheat and walk away with 44000 U.S. jobs and 35 billion in taxpayer dollars the Machinists said in a press release Wednesday.
Although the ruling is confidential the Machinists say that Airbus received at least $5 billion in illegal aid from the European Union and that the Air Force should count that against Airbus parent company EADS in the tanker contest. EADS is working with Northrop Grumman to win the tanker competition.
Boeing likely will offer the Air Force either its KC-767 or KC-777 both based off commercial jets assembled in Everett by members of the Machinists union.
Over the last few weeks several members of Congress have sent the Obama administration letters voicing their concerns one way or another on the tanker contest. Northrop and EADS supporters in Alabama where their tanker would be built say that penalizing EADS/Airbus in the tanker competition would violate international trade rules.
