Boeing Official Calls out French for Protectionism
While French-based Airbus is trying to grab a multibillion aerial tanker contract from the U.S. Air Force, its home country won’t even allow the United States to compete in its defense market. Now, a leading French businessman is calling out the French government for its protectionist policies.
In a recent press conference, Boeing France President Yves Galland, a former French trade official and politician, said the United States has ordered hundreds of U.S. Army helicopters from Eurocopter, an Airbus subsidiary, but France has not bought any defense equipment from Boeing in 30 years.
This is an important issue because the U.S. government is still mulling whether to grant a $35 billion Air Force aerial tanker contract to either Northrop-EADS (Airbus) or Boeing. The contract was rebid after the Government Accountability Office upheld Boeing’s protest of the original decision to award the contract to Northrup-EADS.
