Mandelson rebuffs Zoellick criticism
By Honor Mahony
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has brushed aside comments by his US counterpart that he is using "spin" in the on-going transatlantic dispute over subsidies to Boeing and Airbus.
"I really think that this issue of Boeing and Airbus is policy, not personality" said Mr Mandelson responding on Wednesday (6 April) to comments by US chief trade negotiator Robert Zoellick.
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"I really don’t mind what is said about me by Bob [Zoellick] or anyone else. I have taken harsher political attacks in my career to date".
"I don’t regard Bob’s remarks about me as particularly harsh or shrill and certainly not by comparison with what I am used to in the country I know best", he continued.
His comments follow an unusually personal attack by the US chief trade negotiator on Tuesday (5 April) who made an overt reference to the smoother working relationship he had with Mr Mandelson's predecessor Pascal Lamy.
Mr Zoellick also accused Mr Mandelson of spin saying "if you don't have an authorising environment, you just tell that and you don't have to spin".
This was a seeming reference to reluctance by member states to stop launch aid given to Airbus.
Appearing to respond to this particular statement, Mr Mandelson said that Mr Zoellick's mandate from Boeing is to get rid of all launch aid to Airbus.
"Politically, therefore, he has little room to compromise", said Mr Mandelson adding that Boeing has Washington and Capitol Hill "sewn up".
"I am sure he is trying to make the best he can of difficult circumstances. It behoves all of us to work hard to try to get an amicable solution."
Negotiations on a deal came unstuck last month after a heated telephone conversation - with both men blaming each other for abruptly ending the call.
The two sides have set themselves a political deadline of next Monday (11 April) to work out a first phase agreement on the issue.
The row came to a head last October when Washington threatened to take the EU to the WTO disputes body over what it sees as subsidies to European company Airbus, which has received 11 billion euro since 1967 for development.
The EU hit back, threatening to launch a similar complaint against US company Boeing, which has received state aid of 17 billion euro since 1992.