Rule-Breaking Actions by the Gulf Carriers Threaten 28,000 Utah Jobs

WASHINGTON, DC (August 1, 2017) – Utah’s top federal and state elected officials have called on the U.S. government to put a stop to the trade cheating by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In recent weeks, Senator Orrin Hatch, Governor Gary R. Herbert, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Greg Hughes, President of the Utah State Senate Wayne Niederhauser, Salt Lake City Mayor Jacqueline M. Biskupski, and the entire state delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives sent letters urging the Trump administration to stand up for American jobs. Since 2004, the UAE and Qatar have funneled more than $50 billion in subsidies to their state-owned airlines – Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – distorting the global aviation market and violating their Open Skies agreements with the United States. These subsidies threaten 28,000 aviation jobs in Utah and the over 1.2 million U.S. workers who rely on a strong domestic aviation industry.

“From Salt Lake City to Washington, Utah’s elected leaders have made it clear that the United States should properly enforce its Open Skies agreements and protect American workers,” said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “For years, the UAE and Qatar have propped up their otherwise financially-insolvent airlines with billions in subsidies, putting over 1.2 million American jobs in jeopardy. In order to protect the U.S. aviation industry, we need to enforce our Open Skies agreements by ending this trade cheating.”

The Utah congressional delegation joins a group of now 285 members of Congress calling for the United States government to enforce its Open Skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar. Recently congressional delegations from Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey, along with Senator Ted Cruz and six other U.S. Senators, have called for action. Additionally, leading political and business figures in Georgia, including Governor Nathan Deal, sent similar letters to Trump administration officials.

Links to the full letters are available below:

• Letter from Governor Gary R. Herbert;
• Letter from six bipartisan U.S. Senators, including Senator Orrin Hatch;
• Letter from Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Greg Hughes and President of the Utah State Senate Wayne Niederhauser;
• Letter from Salt Lake City Mayor Jacqueline M. Biskupski;
• Letter from Utah’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. Representatives Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, Mia Love and former Representative Jason Chaffetz.