WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) issued the following statement after the World Trade Organization (WTO) released a report finding that the European Union (EU) violated WTO rules in providing illegal subsidies to Airbus worth billions of dollars.

“I applaud the Trump administration and USTR’s legal team for winning one of the largest trade disputes in modern history. For decades, the EU has flouted its WTO commitments at the expense of American aerospace workers and companies. That ends today. 

“These findings demonstrate the importance of having fully enforceable commitments — like binding dispute settlement procedures — in all of our trade agreements. Our workers and companies are the best in the world, and when we have recourse to make sure our trading partners play by the rules, America wins.”

Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) added:

“American workers and businesses always win when the competition is fair. Today’s announcement confirms that the EU has not been playing by the rules by continuing to provide illegal subsidies worth billions of dollars to Airbus at a cost to American aerospace workers and businesses. This victory supports the work of aerospace company employees across my home state of Washington, including the over 70,000 Boeing employees in the state.  I applaud the work of Ambassador Lighthizer and his team at USTR for their dedication to these workers and to holding the EU accountable. Our trading partners need to know that we will enforce their commitments and make sure that they follow the rules.”