US, European aerospace firms pledge cooperation

WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. and European defense and aerospace executives on Tuesday agreed to work together on ethical business practices, efforts to reduce the environmental impact of their industry, and export control reforms.

Marion Blakey, president and chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association of America, said the meeting had given both sides "solid marching orders on the way forward."

"It's vital that we work closely with our European partners on these issues," Blakey said in a statement.

Chief executives from some of the largest U.S. and European aerospace companies, meeting at the Farnborough International Airshow, agreed to hold an annual forum on business conduct and efforts to harmonize good practices internationally.

The two sides also agreed to host an environmental summit in Paris this fall to coincide with an annual European industry conference and said they hoped to build on existing efforts to reduce carbon emissions blamed for causing global warming.

Finally, the executives underscored the "truly global" nature of their industry and reiterated their commitment to work together to achieve "open and fair markets."

They praised steps taken earlier this year to modernize the U.S. export control system, and vowed to work together to push further steps with the next U.S. presidential administration.

"Transatlantic cooperation is essential to tackle environmental and technological challenges," said Francois Gayet, secretary-general of the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, which helped organize the meeting along with the AIA. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)