Agreement on Airbus seen easing friction

BONN (Reuter) - The full privatisation of Deutsche Airbus this year should remove some of the frictions between the United States and Europe that have blocked agreement on the Uruguay round of world trade talks, government officials said.

'The premature release of Deutsche Airbus on to the market is an important contribution to improving the international trade climate,' Juergen Moellemann, Economics Minister, said.

Daimler-Benz and the German Government agreed that Bonn would transfer its remaining 20 per cent stake in Deutsche Airbus to Daimler in return for terminating exchange rate subsidies. The deal is expected to prevent the US from taking retaliatory measures against Airbus Industrie.