Require Airbus to obey law

Your recent article on how public policy deeply affects our manufacturing industry (“Creating a sustainable manufacturing base,” Nov. 30) neglected to mention how our inconsistent trade policy leads to the outsourcing of tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.

The chief example is one that hits close to home: Chicago's very own Boeing is currently competing against Airbus to win a $35 billion Air Force contract to build new tanker refueling aircraft.

While Boeing has proposed a 767-based tanker design funded with private capital, Airbus's A330-based tanker was developed using $5.7 billion in government subsidies, which the World Trade Organization has ruled illegal.

The WTO ruling was a major win for the U.S. Trade Representative but the Pentagon is almost countermanding it, refusing to expunge Airbus's illegal subsidies from its bid for the tanker.

Not only does this make us look foolish and invite other countries to similarly break international trade laws at the expense of U.S. workers, it could outsource the 50,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs that building a tanker would support, including more than 1,000 in Illinois alone.

Congress can ensure that tax money doesn't reward foreign trade cheaters and outsource American jobs by requiring the Pentagon to discount Airbus's subsidies in the tanker competition.

That would set the record straight.

Clint Brown, President

Chicago Chapter, A. Philip Randolph Institute

Rosemont