The US has been ordered to withdraw illegal state tax breaks for Boeing within three months, giving rival Airbus the latest victory in a 12-year battle over government support for the world’s two biggest aircraft makers¹.

美国已被要求在三个月内收回对波音(Boeing)的非法政府减税优惠。这令波音的对手空中客车(Airbus)在围绕全球两大飞机制造商的政府支持的12年斗争中取得最新胜利。

The World Trade Organisation² has found that a tax break granted by the state of Washington to Boeing in 2013 to ensure the US company produced its newest long-range jet there amounted to a prohibited subsidy³.

世界贸易组织(WTO)认定，美国华盛顿州2013年对波音实施的一项旨在确保这家美国公司在该州制造最新远程客机的减税优惠，构成一种被禁止的补贴。

This is only the fifth time in the WTO’s history that it has defined a subsidy as prohibited.

这只是WTO有史以来第五次将一种补贴定性为被禁止的。

It is a red line you are not permitted to cross, said Brendan McGivern, partner with White & Case, the law firm, in Geneva.

伟凯律师事务所(White & Case)驻日内瓦合伙人布伦丹.麦吉弗伦(Brendan McGivern)表示：这是一条禁止逾越的红线。

This is one of the few really clear no-go areas in WTO rules.

在WTO的规则中，这是少数真正明确不许进入的领域之一。

The ruling comes as the pace of the long battle between Airbus and Boeing accelerates and the election of Donald Trump⁴ as the next US president raises questions over potential for a trade war.

WTO做出这一裁决之际，空客和波音之间长期斗争的节奏有所加快，而唐纳德.特朗普(Donald Trump)当选下一任美国总统引发了可能爆发贸易战的问题。

Two months ago the WTO found the EU had failed to unwind billions of dollars in unlawful subsidies⁵ to Airbus.

两个月前，WTO曾认定欧盟(EU)未能撤回向空客提供的数十亿美元非法补贴。

The ruling could allow the US to impose tariffs⁶ on European goods.

该裁决令美国可以对欧洲商品征收关税。

But the EU is appealing against the findings.

但欧盟正对这一裁决提起上诉。

Next year the WTO will also rule on the EU’s claim that the US has equally failed to withdraw billions in illegal support.

明年WTO还会就欧盟有关美国同样未能撤回数十亿非法支持的主张做出裁决。

The row between the US and EU on behalf of their flagship aerospace⁷ companies has long been one of the most contentious⁸ battles in the global trade system and has cost both sides millions of dollars.

在全球贸易体系中，美国和欧盟为各自旗舰航空航天企业展开的争端，长期以来一直是最激烈的争端之一，双方均已花费了数百万美元。

The dispute reached a head in 2010 and 2011 when the WTO found that both companies had collected billions in unlawful assistance.

这场争端曾在2010年和2011年白热化，当时WTO认定两家企业都获得了巨额非法援助。

The EU, which brought the case against Washington’s support in 2014, hailed the latest decision as a big victory.

这次针对美国华盛顿州政府支持的案子，是由欧盟在2014年提起的。欧盟方面欢呼WTO的最新裁决是一大胜利。

The panel has found that the additional massive subsidies of $5.7bn provided by Washington state to Boeing are strictly⁹ illegal, said Cecilia Malmström, EU trade commissioner¹⁰.

欧盟贸易专员塞西莉亚.马姆斯特罗姆(Cecilia Malmström)表示：专家小组认定华盛顿州向波音提供的57亿美元大规模额外补贴完全违法。

We expect the US to respect the rules, uphold fair competition, and withdraw these subsidies without any delay.

我们预计美国会尊重规则、维护公平竞争、立即撤销这些补贴。

The EU’s claim covers subsidies that would have applied¹¹ between 2024 and 2040

欧盟的申诉涵盖了原本会在2024年到2040年期间到位的补贴。

and which Airbus argues would have covered virtually the entire cost of developing Boeing’s 777X twin aisle¹² aircraft, due to enter service in 2020.

空客声称，这些补贴原本将覆盖开发波音777X双通道客机的几乎全部成本。这种新款飞机定于2020年投入使用。

But Boeing, dismissed the EU’s sums as laughable, saying the ruling affected¹³ only $50m of support.

不过，波音对欧盟的计算不以为然，称其可笑。

The WTO had rejected six of the EU’s seven challenges to tax incentives¹⁴.

该公司表示，这一裁决只会影响5000万美元的政府支持。

In rejecting virtually every claim made by the EU in this case, the WTO found today that Boeing has not received a penny of impermissible subsidies, said J.

在欧盟有关税收激励措施的七项挑战中，WTO驳回了六项。

Michael Luttig, Boeing’s general counsel.

波音总法律顾问J.迈克尔.吕蒂希(J. Michael Luttig)表示：通过驳回欧盟在此案中提出的几乎全部主张，WTO今日认定波音并未收到一分钱不允许的补贴。

The US, meanwhile, has claimed that Airbus has received up to $22bn in unlawful support over several decades.

与此同时，美国声称空客在几十年时间里获得了最高220亿美元的非法支持。

Teal Group analyst¹⁵ Richard Aboulafia said the WTO rulings were not expected to hit either company financially.

蒂尔集团(Teal Group)分析师理查德.阿布拉菲亚(Richard Aboulafia)表示，WTO的裁决预计不会对两家企业中的任何一家造成财务上的打击。