The United States will press the European Union to negotiate a new civil aircraft agreement that would put a stop to subsidies for rivals Airbus and Boeing in the future, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. "Our preferred course, without question, is a negotiated settlement," General Counsel John Veroneau, a senior official in the U.S. trade representative's office, told reporters. U.S. President George W. Bush has threatened to bring a World Trade Organisation case against the "launch aid" provided for Europe's aircraft manufacturer. But Veroneau, who will meet EU officials in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the issue, said Washington would prefer to establish a new pact on subsidies.
