Aerospace shippers want balanced U.S., European controls for China trade

Aerospace shippers want balanced U.S., European controls for China trade    American aerospace companies want the United States and European governments to maintain a level playing field on defense trade controls for China.
   Several members of the European Union recently asked for the termination of sanctions that prohibit defense equipment sales to China. These sanctions were put in place after the Tiananmen Square disaster in 1989.
   The U.S. government wants the European Union to stand firm on its defense trade policy toward China.
      The Washington-based Aerospace Industries Association is concerned that American defense shippers would be placed at a competitive disadvantage if Europe drops its sanctions on exports of non-lethal military goods, such as cargo planes and communications equipment.
   “If the EU refuses to maintain an absolute ban on sales to China, AIA will urge the U.S. government to lift its ban and cooperate with major European governments to harmonize respective controls and specific defense products and technologies,” the association said in its May “Update” newsletter.