Ten Governors Call for an End to Massive Gulf Carrier Subsidies

Washington, D.C. (February 15, 2018) – A bipartisan group of ten governors from across the country has sent letters to the Trump administration calling for an end to the Gulf carriers’ rule-breaking government subsidies.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have all sent letters to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao calling for action to address the over $50 billion in unfair government subsidies that the United Arab Emirates and Qatar provide to their state-owned airlines: Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways.

“We are grateful that this group of ten governors from across the U.S. has joined 311 members of Congress in standing up against the Gulf carriers’ trade cheating,” said Scott Reed, campaign manager for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “We thank the Trump administration for striking an agreement with Qatar. Now it’s time to enforce our agreement with the UAE in order to stand up for American jobs.”

The signers join bipartisan letters from the congressional delegations of Arizona, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Minnesota, Utah, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado, West Virginia and California in calling for the United States to enforce its Open Skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar. Additional letters of support came from 25 Members of Congress from New York and New Jersey, leading political and business figures in Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia and Utah, and two bipartisan groups of U.S. Senators, as well as individual letters to the Trump administration from Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Rob Portman.

Links to the full letters are available below: