Airbus CEO calls on EU to resolve tariff conflict with U.S.

Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury called on the European Union to patch up its shaky partnership with the U.S., warning that the bloc risks falling behind as other regions recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Asia is going faster than the rest of the world,” Faury said Monday at Business Day 2020, a German economic forum. “I’m really worried we’ll emerge late and weakened.”

Trade tensions between the EU and the U.S. threaten to bog down Airbus and its U.S. rival Boeing Co. as they try to claw their way back from the worst aviation crisis in history. Meanwhile, a new Asia-Pacific trade deal shows the risks of Europe and the U.S. continuing to battle each other on trade rather than working together, Faury said.

The Airbus CEO said that while he agreed with the EU’s recent decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. aircraft, an escalating trade war “would not be good for Boeing, Airbus or the industry.”

U.S. President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on EU-built planes and other goods last year, amplifying a 16-year rift between the two dominant planemakers. His defeat by challenger Joe Biden in this month’s election has led to calls for a reset.

“It’s obvious this conflict neither helps customers nor industry,” Faury said.

Testing Plans

With lockdowns holding back air travel in Europe, the Airbus chief added his voice to appeals for European governments to adopt airport testing rather than quarantining travelers. He said testing was a safe and proven way to protect travelers while allowing the industry to recover.

Armando Brunini, chief executive officer of Milan airports authority SEA, said the Malpensa airfield will start a pilot project on Thursday involving a weekly flight to China by Italian airline Neos SpA. The arrangement will involve the rapid testing of passengers for Covid-19 at the carrier’s expense, he said in an interview.

Malpensa is also in contact with a U.S. carrier interested in a similar pilot project, Brunini said. He declined to identify the airline or the U.S. destination.

“We want to push bottom up with specific projects,” he said. “We want to showcase basically.”