Here we go again. While it's not quite an annual ritual, the regularity with which the U.S. and Europe butt heads over aviation, aerospace and defense is becoming alarming (see p. 32). Representatives from both sides agree the industries are critical—why else would they so willingly engage in mud wrestling. So what's the problem? It's that neither side has taken the time to sort out where its strategic interests lie, instead focusing on tactical skirmishes in which the governments act like stooges for corporate interests. Lost in the debate are the interests of the taxpayers and eventual customers. The timing is certainly suspect, Boeing has been complaining about Airbus' subsidies for years, but didn't press its case until an election year in which it was launching a new program, the 7E7, and Airbus appeared to be responding with serious thoughts of a new one of its own, the expected A350. And, surprise, surprise, three weeks before what everyone expects to be a close vote, it seemed like a dandy idea to the Bush administration to take a dramatic step to protect jobs in a crown-jewel industry.
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