Duties not legitimate, Canada, U.K. reiterate in trade hearing

The Canadian and British governments appeared before a U.S. tribunal Monday arguing against the imposition of duties on Bombardier planes, in a hearing highlighting the more aggressive use of trade remedies in Donald Trump’s America.

Canada’s ambassador to Washington said potential duties of up to 300 per cent on Bombardier’s CSeries jet are illegitimate as he urged the U.S. International Trade Commission to cancel them in its final impending determination.

First, David MacNaughton said the case that imports of the Bombardier jet would cause material injury to rival Boeing is based on speculation and conjecture — prohibited not only under U.S. law but also by World Trade Organization rules.

Moreover, he told the commission there’s no evidence Bombardier planes will be exported to the U.S.; that the CSeries does not compete with Boeing aircraft; that Boeing has a seven-year backlog in sales, invalidating its claim of an injury; and that duties would ultimately hurt Americans, as Bombardier accounts for 23,000 jobs in nine U.S. states.

The British ambassador to the U.S., Kim Darroch, made a similar case, and argued that Boeing has benefited from billions in government support via different U.S. mechanisms, while it complains about subsidies elsewhere.

MacNaughton said the case has broader implications. Speaking to reporters outside the hearing, he said anti-trade rhetoric in the U.S., not just from the Trump administration, has emboldened companies to launch commercial attacks on their foreign rivals.

Boeing argued that Canada is the one practising unfair trade.

The company said government subsidies have allowed its Canadian rival to infringe on potential markets; that CSeries sales are already hurting orders; and that the recent Bombardier-Airbus partnership to build in Alabama is a ruse that would disappear if duties are rescinded.

The chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister, said it’s hard to compete against a company with a bottomless reservoir of support from foreign taxpayers. “Boeing makes the best airplanes in the world. But we can’t compete with companies funded and backed by governments.”