Embraer Welcomes Establishment of WTO Panel To Analyse Bombardier Funding

Brazilian firm Embraer has issued a statement Friday supporting the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel in Geneva that will examine Brazil’s case against Canadian subsidies worth US$3 billion for planemaker Bombardier Inc.

Brazil has threatened for months to open the WTO dispute, arguing that support for Bombardier’s new CSeries was undercutting the market for commercial jets made by Brazilian rival Embraer SA.

The Brazilian Government’s understanding, shared by Embraer, is that the subsidies provided by the Canadian government are inconsistent with Canada’s WTO obligations, the press release states.

On September 26, the United States Department of Commerce (DoC) found such subsidies to justify the imposition of a 219% duty on imports of C-Series aircraft into the United States.

“We believe that the decision of the Commerce Department reinforces the Brazilian Government's claim in the panel opened today at the WTO,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, Embraer's CEO. “The Canadian company has received subsidies from local governments that have allowed Bombardier to sell its aircraft at artificially low prices. These subsidies, which have been fundamental to the development and survival of the C-Series program, are an unsustainable practice that distorts the entire global market, harming competitors at the expense of Canadian taxpayers. In order to ensure that competition in the commercial aviation market continues to be between companies, and not governments, it is essential to restore a level playing field, respecting fair trade conditions”.