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Introduction

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Airbus Industrie

Part of the book series: St Antony’s Series ((STANTS))

Abstract

This book examines a major sectoral trade dispute between the United States and the European Community, the so-called ‘Airbus dispute’. Airbus began operation in 1970 and throughout the 1980s caused increasing concern among American government and industry officials. Bilateral EC-US trade diplomacy over Airbus resolved the dispute in 1992 with the signing of an agreement governing international trade in civilian aerospace. In essence, we seek to know why the twenty-year dispute in the civil aircraft sector did not escalate to the level of trade conflict that would include the use of protectionist measures such as tariffs and countervailing duties. Indeed, after a decade of difficult diplomacy, the US and the EC not only avoided an overt trade war in aircraft but succeeded in crafting an international managed trade regime for the sector. By examining why the EC and US avoided trade conflict and constructed this regime the project hopes to contribute to an understanding of international cooperation.

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Notes

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Loughborough University, Leicestershire, England

    Steven McGuire (Research Fellow)

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  1. Steven McGuire
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© 1997 Steven McGuire

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McGuire, S. (1997). Introduction. In: Airbus Industrie. St Antony’s Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230372214_1

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