BBC reports that at the start of a World Trade Organization hearing, the European Union has complained that the U.S. government has subsidized Boeing, against WTO free trade rules. EU claims the subsidies have cost Airbus $27 billion in losses.

This is utterly rich. The U.S. already has a complaint in to the WTO that Airbus has accepted up to $205 billion in government subsidies.

It is a shame that the U.S. government is subsidizing private industry in addition to the defense contracts that Boeing already enjoys. Such action is not enumerated in the Constitution and hurts Boeing’s ability to be competitive in the long run. We need to stop it regardless of what the WTO says.