European aerospace company Airbus recently held the United States responsible for China’s unfair trade practices. This “blame the victim” approach accuses the United States of being responsible for China’s repeated violations of international trade agreements and the theft of intellectual property from American companies. This attitude is outrageous and should not be rewarded.
Ironically, this same French company is in the midst of asking for U.S. taxpayer dollars to build a next-generation tanker for the Air Force. The U.S. government should not contract with a European company that cannot be trusted to build aircraft for the U.S. military, especially if that company is working hand in hand with America’s most dangerous enemy.
Airbus is clearly in league with China’s trade practices, as the company has a history of engaging in similar unethical business practices.
Calling out the U.S. government for China’s well-known unethical and illegal trade practices may not be the best way to win contracts from the U.S. government, but Airbus is standing firm.
“The CEO of Airbus has his views on who is to blame for the trade war that has engulfed the global economy, but unusually he is not blaming China.” luck Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury is angry that his company has not been able to force its way out of American, and even Chinese, companies to dominate the global market for commercial and government aircraft.
It is absurd to blame the US for China’s notorious misconduct. Joe Biden On May 14, he said: “For years, the Chinese government has pumped public money into Chinese companies in every industry, from future industries like steel, aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, and solar panels to critical medical equipment like gloves and masks,” resulting in illegal subsidies that “dump surplus products on the market at unfairly low prices, driving other manufacturers around the world out of business.” China’s heavily subsidized products have no profit motive because the government makes the profits.
Biden pointed out that China is forcing U.S. companies to transfer technology to China in order to do business there, in addition to illegal subsidies and dumping, which is not the fault of the U.S. government. Biden cited “cyber espionage” and said Chinese business practices are “not competition, it’s cheating.” I agree with Joe Biden on most things, but on this point he is right.
Donald Trump As president, Trump has also taken a tough stance against China. When he announced tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports in 2018, he said, “China does not appear to be willing to change its unfair practices in acquiring U.S. intellectual property and technology.” The previous two administrations responded to Chinese misconduct, not caused it.
Airbus has its own problems. “Airbus SE (Airbus or the Company), a France-based global provider of civil and military aircraft, has agreed to pay penalties totaling more than $3.9 billion to settle foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France and the United Kingdom,” the report said. Department of Justice The settlement announced on January 31, 2020, indicated that the company was accused of “bribing government officials and non-governmental airline executives around the world and using third-party business partners to resolve violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and its implementing regulations, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).”
Airbus is clearly in league with China’s trade practices, as the company has a history of engaging in similar unethical business practices.
Part of the accusation against Airbus is that the company paid bribes in China and tried to hide them. As the Department of Justice noted, the fact that “international corruption involving sensitive U.S. defense technology is a particularly dangerous combination” speaks to the idea that Airbus is no longer eligible for U.S. government contracts. It is clear that Airbus is blaming the U.S., not China, for Chinese protectionism and unfair trade practices, because the French company has close ties to China.
Unless Airbus changes course and stops its unfair trade practices, it will be pointless for the Pentagon to award the company new contracts. Find an American company to build aircraft for the U.S. military.
