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GGD-93-41R 1 (1993-06-09)

handle is hein.gao/gaobackjw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 General Government Division B-253697 June 9, 1993 The Honorable Richard Gephardt Majority Leader House of Representatives Dear Mr. Gephardt: Q - oZo >143 This letter responds to your request that we review, and assess the implementation of, the bilateral agreement between the United States and the European Community (EC) concerning trade in civil aircraft. As you know, the agreement was intended to promote a more favorable environment for international trade in large civil aircraft by eliminating production supports for future programs and limiting development and indirect supports for such programs. As agreed with you, in an effort to keep you informed of significant findings in a timely manner, this letter describes our concerns about provisions of the agreement dealing with prior commitments of EC member governments to provide support for current programs. In a later report, we plan to assess (1) the agreement and its relationship to other international agreements concerned with trade in the civil aircraft industry, (2) the monitoring and implementation of the agreement, (3) efforts to make the agreement multilateral, and (4) the implications of the agreement for the competitiveness of the U.S. aircraft industry. BACKGROUND After more than 5 years of sometimes intense negotiations, on July 17, 1992, the United States and the European Community signed the Agreement Concerning Application of the GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade] Agreement to Trade in Civil Aircraft. The U.S. civil aircraft industry has generally supported this agreement, with a common industry view that it is a useful first step in eliminating government support for production of large civil aircraft. GAO/GGD-93-41R U.S.-EC Aircraft Agreement 5513 q 149813 194 4 9 ( 3o'