Why Airbus divided A300 work among countries

Was it inefficient for Airbus to divide A300 components, including wing work, among different European countries?

The arrangement carried coordination costs, but it distributed political and industrial support, widened the aircraft's home markets, and helped make a multinational program viable.

The A300 workshare was more than foolish duplication. Assigning major components to different countries gave each partner an industrial stake in the aircraft's success. That stake strengthened political support and made national airlines and markets more receptive to the finished product. Defense programs use similar workshare arrangements to keep a coalition behind the project. Manufacturing becomes more complicated, but the multinational program gains the political base needed to make production possible.