Boeing and the Washington state aerospace industry

The aerospace industry is a critical part of Washington state’s economy. Jay has been working in Congress to make sure that this sector continues to be an important source of employment for families in the Pacific Northwest.

In view of recent turbulence over Boeing's decision on placement of its second 787 manufacturing line in another state, it is vitally important that Washington’s workers get a fair shake in the U.S. Air Force’s impending decision on whom to award the $35 billion contract to build 179 mid-air refueling tanker aircraft over the next decade. On November 2, 2009, Jay led a group of his colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama to urge the Administration to take into account the European “launch aid” subsidies given to Airbus and recently ruled to be illegal by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Jay and his colleagues insisted that the coming competition recognize the big-picture implications of rewarding trade violations committed by foreign companies and countries at the expense of American manufacturing jobs. The WTO has made it clear in its interim ruling that Airbus is in violation of trade agreements for receiving billions of dollars worth of risk-free, European government subsidies for its civilian projects, including the company’s previous work on the A330 airframe design that is the foundation for the company’s KC-X tanker proposal. The existence of these illegal subsidies gives Airbus an unfair advantage in the tanker competition, which in-turn imperils American aerospace jobs.

As the Defense Department finalizes the competition rules in its new Request for Proposal for this contract in the coming weeks, it’s only fair that the rules of the competition should penalize Airbus in a reasonable proportion to the amount it has been illegally boosted by European Governments in violation of their treaties.

Boeing has previously submitted a proposal to build these tankers in Washington state but was unfairly overlooked in 2008 in favor of a proposal by French company Airbus/EADS to supply aircraft that would be modified for military use by Northrop Grumman. But in choosing the Airbus/EADS bid, the Air Force had made a fatally flawed decision that was subsequently ruled to be improperly awarded by an independent Government Accountability Office review under the Defense Department’s own standards.

Jay has stood by the interests of Boeing’s 75,000 Washington workers in good times and in bad and he strongly favored Boeing’s bid to replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135 aircraft because their 767-based proposal was not only the best match for the Air Force’s stated priorities in the competition, but was also a lighter, more efficient solution for the needs of our fighting men and women.