"The United States has been clear in its message: Launch aid for the A350 or any other Airbus aircraft is completely unacceptable.

"The commitment of launch aid by any of the EU Member States is yet another step in the wrong direction. We want to negotiate an end to aircraft subsidies, but the commitment of aid makes that even harder to do.

"It’s clear that the EU countries are unwilling to stop subsidizing Airbus. Therefore, we will continue to push ahead with our WTO case.

"We take no comfort from any offer to postpone the actual payment of the launch aid these countries have already promised to provide. The announcement of their commitment to back the A350 will affect Airbus’s financing costs regardless of when they formally write the check."

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