The European Union has asked the World Trade Organization for the right to impose annual trade sanctions worth $12 billion on the United States in retaliation for illegal subsidies to planemaker Boeing, the WTO said on Thursday.
The request is the latest legal move in the world's biggest trade dispute over subsidies for Boeing and its European rival Airbus, which has lasted more than seven years so far.
The EU says the United States has failed to comply with a WTO ruling that found Boeing had received billions of dollars in illegal subsidies. The United States said it had met a compliance deadline that expired last Sunday, but the EU swiftly rejected that claim.
