U.S. resuming WTO case Monday May 30, 5:05 PM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is reactivating a World Trade Organization case against billions of dollars in European subsidies for aircraft maker Airbus after efforts to reach a negotiated settlement with Brussels failed, U.S. trade officials said on Monday. "We continue to prefer a negotiated solution, and we would rather not have to go back to the WTO. But the EU's insistence on moving forward with new launch aid is forcing our hand," U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said in a statement. Both the United States and the EU suspended competing WTO cases against government support for Airbus and its American competitor Boeing in January to try to negotiate a deal to eliminate aircraft subsidies on both sides of Atlantic. The U.S. decision to reactivate its complaint follows phone calls between Portman and European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on Friday and again on Monday to see if a deal could still be reached even though an April deadline for achieving that goal has long passed. The two trade officials said in a joint statement that they would not let the aircraft spat spill into other trade areas. "We remain united in our determination that this dispute shall not affect our cooperation on wider bilateral and multilateral trade issues. We have worked together well so far, and intend to continue to do so," Portman and Mandelson said. The United States warned recently it would only continue talks if the EU agreed not to provide any more "launch aid" loans for Airbus while the two sides negotiated. "Unfortunately, at this point, the EU is no longer willing to hold off on launch aid, and has only proposed to reduce subsidies, not end them," Portman said. U.S. officials said that by requesting a WTO panel to hear its complaint Washington was providing time for the EU to reconsider its plans to provide new subsidies and instead recommit to the January framework for negotiating a comprehensive deal. That would include an immediate halt to any further steps toward providing new launch aid and a recommitment that the purpose of the negotiations is to end new subsidies for civil aircraft, not merely to reduce them, U.S. officials said. "We still believe that a bilateral negotiated solution is possible," said Portman. "But the negotiations won't succeed unless the EU recommits to ending subsidies." ?2005 Reuters Limited. Roger EWROPS