When the United States and European Union first signed their Open Skies aviation agreement in 2007, the U.S. airlines got the better of the deal, winning immediate access to European markets in return for promises for concessions in the future. European airlines, such as British Airways, warned that this made them hostages to fortune. As it turns out, they were right. The U.S. once again is giving in to protectionist tempation. President Obama should quickly change course and move toward truly free skies.

On March 25, American and EU negotiators signed a draft agreement on the second round of Open Skies negotiations, which purports to open both markets to foreign competition.  Unfortunately, real progress has been stymied by America’s refusal to commit to relaxing its outdated ownership laws, which limit foreign ownership of voting equity in American airlines to a mere 25 percent.