sponsors of the companion bills in the Senate
and House. Under the legislation, starting on
April 1, the company will no longer receive the
40% tax break that the Legislature adopted
for the aerospace industry in 2003, which was
expanded in 2013.
Last year, the World Trade Organization body
ruled that Boeing received an illegal U.S. tax
break from Washington state that damaged
sales by European archrival Airbus.
The decision by the WTO’s appellate body
considered whether the United States had
complied with a 2012 ruling that found that
plane-maker and defense company Boeing
received at least $5 billion in subsidies
prohibited under international trade rules.
But the ruling was limited and the decision
found no grounds upon which the European
bloc could seek damages from an arbitrator,
except for the relatively small Washington state
tax program — which the U.S. says was worth
$100 million a year.
In a statement, Boeing spokesman Bryan Watt
said Wednesday that the company advocated
for and supports the legislative action to
“resolve the sole finding against the United
States in the long-running trade disputes
between Europe and the United States over
government support for the production of
large commercial airplanes.”
“This legislation demonstrates the commitment
of Washington — and of the United States — to
fair and rules-based trade, and to compliance
with the WTO’s rulings,” he said.
In December, a WTO panel ruled that the
European Union has not complied with an order