The decision by the World Trade Organization pushes a 15-year corporate dispute over illegal support for plane giants to the centre of caustic world trade relations and comes on top of a tariff war between Washington and Beijing.

In response, the United States intends to impose new 10 per cent tariffs on aircraft and 25 per cent on other specified European agricultural and industrial goods starting as early as Oct. 18, an official from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. The official described the decision a “significant victory” for the United States.

The Trump administration’s list of 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs, released later Wednesday, includes French wine, Italian cheese and single-malt Scotch whisky. Italian wine was exempted from the list.

Other products on the U.S. tariff list include United Kingdom-made sweaters, pullovers, cashmere items and wool clothing, as well as olives from France, Germany and Spain, EU-produced pork sausage and other pork products other than ham, and German coffee. The new tariffs are to take effect as early as Oct. 18.

The aircraft tariffs would not apply to aircraft parts, sparing Airbus assembly operations in Alabama from higher costs, as well as shielding European parts used by U.S. plane maker Boeing.

WTO arbitrators said Boeing had lost the equivalent to $7.5 billion a year in sales and disruption to deliveries of some of its largest aircraft because of cheap European government loans to arch-rival Airbus (all figures US$).

The decision, confirming a figure reported by Reuters last week, allows Washington to target the same value of EU goods, but bars any retaliation against European financial services.

It is part of a two-way dispute that diplomats and trade experts expect to lead to tit-for-tat European import tariffs against U.S. goods next year over state subsidies for Boeing.

The Trump administration asked the WTO for an emergency meeting to give the formal ratification needed for tariffs in mid-October.

Goods from EU countries that are not part of the Airbus consortium, such as Italy, would still be targeted, a USTR official said, because European Union nations all bear responsibility for the situation.

Broad selling amid worries over slowing global growth that had punished European stocks earlier on Wednesday accelerated as the ruling revived worries about damage to the already-ailing regional economy. The pan European STOXX 600 index finished down 2.7 per cent, its worst day since December 2018.

Wall Street’s main indexes suffered their sharpest one-day declines in nearly six weeks on Wednesday after employment and manufacturing data suggested that the U.S.-China trade war is taking an increasing toll on the U.S. economy.

War of attrition

The world’s two largest planemakers have waged a war of attrition over subsidies at the WTO since 2004 in a dispute that has tested the trade policeman’s influence and is expected to set the tone for competition from would-be rivals from China.

The WTO had already found that both Europe’s Airbus and its U.S. rival Boeing received billions of dollars of illegal subsidies in the world’s largest corporate trade dispute.

The global trade body is due to decide early next year on the level of annual tariffs the EU can impose on U.S. imports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the decision would weigh on the European planemaker, which is one of Germany’s largest industrial employers and is headquartered in France.

Before any tariffs can be imposed, the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body must formally adopt the arbiters’ report in a process expected to take between 10 days and four weeks.

Its next scheduled meeting is on Oct. 28, but Washington’s request could bring that forward to Oct. 14.

‘Lose-lose’ trade war

While the level of tariffs amounts to less than three days worth of trade between Europe and the United States, importers led by U.S. airlines that buy Airbus jets have urged Washington to be selective when choosing industries to hit in order to avoid causing collateral damage to the U.S. economy.

EU manufacturers are already facing U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum and a threat from U.S. President Donald Trump to penalize EU cars and car parts. The EU has in turn retaliated.

The Trump administration believes tariffs were effective in bringing China to the negotiating table over trade, and in convincing Japan to open its agricultural market to U.S. products.

Airbus has said this would lead to a “lose-lose” trade war and has published a video stressing its contribution to the U.S. industry through local assembly plants and 4,000 direct jobs.

Not all analysts see the WTO’s aircraft subsidy row — with its thousands of pages of legal and aeronautical jargon — inflaming broader international trade tensions.

“In some ways it is a distinct issue from the rest of the Trump trade wars,” said Constantine Fraser of UK research firm TS Lombard.

“I think the White House is going to be aggressive in pursuing this, but I don’t think there is necessarily any kind of read-through from this to the prospect of tariffs on cars.”

— Reporting by Tim Hepher in London, Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and David Shepardson in Washington; additional reporting by Stephanie Nebahay in Geneva, Josephine Mason and Danilo Masoni in London, Andreas Rinke in Berlin and Andrea Shalal, Heather Timmons and David Lawder in Washington; writing by Tim Hepher and Philip Blenkinsop.

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Walter Thickett, owner of Thickett Engine Rebuilding, has always been fascinated by machines, so it came as no surprise when he pursued an ultralight licence in 1993, followed by a pilot’s licence in 1994.

Thickett then spent four years building his own plane, with help from son, Darrell, and brother, Les.

“After getting to sit in and check out an RV-10 at E.A.A. Airventure in Wisconsin in the summer of 2012, we (Thickett and wife Arlene) knew we had to have one,” said Thickett, who is a longtime fan of the Vans series of high-performance aircraft.

It was the couple’s passion for flight that spurred Thickett to take on the ultimate DIY project, ordering a kit from Van’s Aircraft in Oregon. The kit was delivered in four large wooden boxes and it would take four years to put it all together.

Thickett and his son began working on the plane in one of the four bays of the family’s diesel engine shop, situated northwest of Binscarth, working in the morning and evening around customer jobs. Les came on board during the final year of the project.

“Assembly required dimpling and deburring holes and installing thousands of flush rivets,” said Thickett. “At first we ended up drilling out and redoing rivets that were sticking up too far or sunken too low, but after awhile we got quite good at it and having to redo a rivet became a rare occurrence.”

The kit did not come with instruments or engine, so Thickett ordered a Garmin G3X glass panel with two flight displays and did all the electrical wiring himself.

For an engine, a timed-out fuel-injected Lycoming IO-540, which came from the right wing of a parted-out Piper Aztec, was purchased and shipped from Florida. Once delivered, it was rebuilt with all brand new parts.

When it got to the stage where the wings needed to be added, the plane was towed out of the shop and finished in an 85×45-foot hangar/storage shed located on the farm. The finished aircraft has a wingspan of just over 31 feet.

At various stages during the build, and after completion, Transport Canada inspector Norm Seiferling flew out to their farm airstrip from Regina to perform the mandatory inspections, (as well as the final pre-flight inspection and sign-off).

Rather than painting the plane, a 3M vinyl wrap was done by Cory Deslauriers (Auto Trim Design) at Yorkton, Sask., and Fred and Barb Clearwater of Silverton Upholstery covered and finished the seats.

The first flight of the RV-10 was in 2017 at the Russell airport, with flight instructor Doug Reetz from Champion Air Park, Estevan, Sask. at the controls and next to him, Thickett, who eventually got his Certificate of Airworthiness, which allowed flight beyond the 40-kilometre limit and to carry passengers.

Thickett has come a long way since purchasing a Husky Norseman advanced ultralight and getting his ultralight licence with instructor Harold Rudy in 1993. That aircraft was replaced with a Cessna 150 in 1994 and Thickett upgraded to his pilot’s licence at the Shoal Lake airport with instructor Andrew Critchley of Shoal Lake Aviation.

Now, in addition to his own custom-built Van’s RV-10, Thickett owns a restored Champ and Quad City Challenger 11, which are kept at the farm and used for local sightseeing flights.

Among the 13 active members of the Russell Flying Club, Thickett enjoys being involved in monthly meetings, and hosting the annual fly/drive/walk-in breakfast at the Russell airport. He is also a member of COPA (Canadian Owners and Pilots Association) and an EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) member.

“Arlene and I love travelling in our own plane,” said Thickett. “It has opened up a whole new world of adventure and freedom.”

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“It’s great to share the cockpit with kids,” said pilot Kevin Nickel, who often has his daughter Grace in the seat next to him on flights.

Dennis Schoonbaert, president of the Shoal Lake Flying Club, was one of the six area pilots involved in the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) to volunteer their time and aircraft this year. Along with him and Nickel were pilots Ken Pierce, Russ Hamilton, Derek Jenkins, and Thomas Aguero.

COPA was founded in 1952 to speak as the unified voice for general aviation in Canada, representing close to 16,000 members in every province and territory. Dating back to 1964, the COPA Flights are an essential component to the success of the COPA for Kids program, which introduces over 3,000 Canadian children to general aviation each year.

As parents watched, children learned about the vast array of aviation career opportunities as they waited for their turn to take to the sky. It’s anticipated that there will be a huge demand for pilots in the near future, as many are at or nearing retirement age.

For 10-year-old Jacob Grenier, who experienced his first flight on a small plane, involvement was about a passion for flying. Joining him on a flight were Chase Myhill, and fellow Shoal Lake schoolmate, Debra Sytnyk.

“That was awesome,” echoed across the tarmac, as youth climbed out of their designated aircraft.

“We will be sure to register earlier next year for the COPA for Kids program, as it’s not hard to tell that Debra loved it,” said her mom, Helen Sytnyk.

There was also a demonstration of what it takes to be a spray plane pilot, with Diego Perez at the controls, as the Shoal Lake Airport is home to Prairie Dusters, owned and operated by Randy and Janet Sandstrom of Birtle.

Aviators are not born, they are inspired by other aviators, as aviation is exciting and vital to our nation’s future. Thanks to the COPA for Kids program, the future may hold additional pilots becoming a part of the Shoal Lake Flying Club.

In remembrance of their son, Brad, who was killed in a small plane accident two years ago, parents Dean and Carla Ashcroft fully stand behind his goals, the importance of the Shoal Lake Flying Club to youth, and Kids Flights held over the past 20 years under the Young Eagles and COPA programs. Experiences through flight gave him and many more like him a new perspective on the world and life in general, as pilots are simply ordinary individuals with special skills developed through training.

Go to the COPA for Kids website for more information on this event held in July.

At Shoal Lake, pre-registration is required by calling the Yellowhead Leisure Services at 204-759-2629 as registration forms must be signed by a parent/legal guardian.

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Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Thursday announced an interim order with new rules for the recreational operation of model aircraft and of drones weighing more than 250 grams and up to 35 kg.

Recreational drones are now banned from flying higher than 90 metres; from flying within 75 metres of “buildings, structures, vehicles, vessels, animals and the public” which includes “spectators, bystanders or any person not associated with the operation of the aircraft” and over any “open-air assembly of persons.”

The new rules also ban drones from flying within nine km of the centre of any airport, heliport or any other site where aircraft take off and land; within nine km of a forest fire area; and within the perimeter of an emergency operation site involving police or first responders.

Recreational drones also may not be flown at night or “in cloud,” the government said.

Recreational drone operators are also now required to mark their drones with their contact information.

Noting Thursday the number of incidents involving recreational drones has “more than tripled” since 2014, Garneau said the new measures, which take effect immediately, will “enhance the safety of aviation and the public while we work to bring into force permanent regulations.”

The temporary rules, which are expected to be in place for up to a year, impose fines for non-compliance, worth up to $3,000 per individual.

The new measures won’t affect operators of drones for “commercial, academic or research purposes,” the government said Thursday.

In those cases, “the rules that are already in place are effective and most commercial users operate their drones in a safe manner.”

Work purposes

Drone use for “work or research purposes” includes the unmanned aircraft’s use in farm work, a Transport Canada spokesperson said Thursday via email.

Thus, farmers or anyone else using a drone for work still must either get a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) from Transport Canada, “unless they meet the strict safety conditions in Transport Canada’s exemptions,” the department said.

SFOCs lay out specific terms for a given operator, which can include limits on maximum allowed altitude, mandatory communications with air traffic control, and minimum required distances from people, buildings and aerodromes.

Exemptions allow work use of drones with a maximum takeoff weight of at least one kg up to 25 kg, with maximum calibrated airspeed of 87 knots or less, as long as the drone is being operated away from “built-up areas, airspace, controlled aerodromes, forest fire areas and other restricted locations.”

Work-related drone use that’s exempt from an SFOC also requires operators to report any drone-related injuries requiring medical attention, as well as any “unintended contact” between a drone and people, livestock, vehicles, vessels or other structures.

Work-related drone uses which fall outside the conditions of those exemptions are subject to requirements for an SFOC, regardless of the drone’s weight.

Transport Canada noted Thursday it’s also proposing changes to federal aviation regulations including new flight rules, aircraft marking and registration requirements, knowledge testing, minimum age limits, and pilot permits for “certain UAV operators.”

Those new rules — which are expected to be published in June for public comment — focus on “smaller” (25 kg or less) drones and unmanned aircraft operated within visual line of sight, whether recreational or non-recreational. — AGCanada.com Network

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