OLYMPIA…Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, offered the following statement in response to the ruling issued by the World Trade Organization that the tax breaks Washington State provided to Boeing unfairly benefited the company against its competitors.
“The WTO previously ruled that Airbus benefited from $22 billion in illegal subsidies. Today, the WTO ruled that Boeing benefited from $100 million in subsidies, meaning that the WTO has ruled that Airbus benefited from subsidies at a 220-1 rate.
“We should not overreact to this ruling. We should not do anything to harm the competitiveness of the aerospace industry in Washington State. Aerospace is a vitally important employer to an enormous number of hard-working Washingtonians. It’s essential to our local economy.
“If we just drop the manufacturing business and occupation rate for all manufacturers to the aerospace rate, we could address the WTO’s concern and create a terrific jobs environment for all manufacturers in the state. We proposed this very solution previously, which the Legislature passed with bipartisan support. Unfortunately, it was vetoed by Gov. Jay Inslee.”