Research On Subsidies Of Civil Aircraft Within The WTO Framework

Definitely,the ability of researching and manufacturing civil aircraft independently is an important appearance of comprehensive national strength.The promotion of civil aircraft industry can not only enhance the national defense capability,but also promote the national economic development,to which China has been paying high attention.It is necessary to study WTO disputes about the subsidies provided to civil aircraft,and WTO subsidies and countervailing legal rules,while the C919 civil aircraft Chinese researching and manufacturing independently is about to put on the market.Firstly,this paper introduces the formation of rules on subsidy in WTO,including General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI,XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures,and Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.Also,this paper introduces the important rules in Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures,including the four elements of constituting subsidy(government or public body,financial contribution,conferred a benefit,and specificity)and the rules of classification regulation(prohibited subsidies,actionable subsidies and non-actionable subsidies).Secondly,this paper presents WTO subsidy disputes in civil aircraft between Brazil and Canada,the United States and the the European Community,founding that there are fewer complaints and involve merely prohibited subsidies in disputes between Canada and Brazil,while more complaints and involve both prohibited subsidies and actionable subsidies in disputes between the United States and the European Community.This paper also introduces the measures at issue and the evaluation of the panel,and summarizes the types of measures at issue,such as special funds,preferential loans,interest subsidies,equity infusions,forgiving debt,preferential loan guarantee,equity transactions contrary to market conditions,preferential tax and goods or services other than general infrastructure.Thirdly,this paper analyzes whether the measures at issue comply with the rules on subsidy.After introducing the principal line and logic of analyzing,this paper divides this problems into two parts.The first part are common issues in analyzing whether the measures at issue comply with the rules on subsidy.For example,using the theory of “recipients benefit” rather than “government cost expenditure”when define “benefit”,which is not only including pecuniary advantage,but also data,technology and intellectual property;export subsidies are subsidies contingent,in law or in fact,upon export performance,while the standard of identifying export subsidies in fact experienced a shift from “but for” and “nearness to the export market” to“because of”,then to “be geared to induce the promotion of future export performance”.The second part analyzes three issues in specific cases,including whether the government's purchase of service is financial contribution,the definition of "general infrastructure" and the interpretation and application of(K)provision in Annex I List of export subsidies.Finally,in order to promote the development and subsidy system of our country's civil aircraft industry,this paper puts forward some suggestions,such as avoiding prohibited subsidies,weaken the specificity of subsidies,strengthening the construction of general infrastructure,increasing input on basic scientific research,promoting technical cooperation between civil aircraft manufacturers and government departments or public bodies,and strengthening international exchanges and cooperation.