EU demands news on US aircraft row

THE EU yesterday demanded to know whether Washington is still interested in talks to resolve a decades-old trade dispute over subsidies given to aircraft makers Airbus and Boeing.

Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson was “frankly surprised” the US had threatened to cut off talks last Friday, EU spokeswoman Claude Veron-Reville said in Brussels, adding that no official word was given directly to Mr Mandelson.

“We feel that the ball is very clearly in the American court and we are waiting for them to clarify their position,” Veron-Reville said. “We understood from some press statements that they were withdrawing from the negotiations, but we received no prior communication of that.”