Couillard calls for hard line on Boeing

• Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says he wants Ottawa to take a hard line against Boeing after the U.S. Department of Commerce proposed a hefty 219 per cent countervailing duty on jets manufactured by Montreal rival Bombardier.

The department’s preliminary findings released Tuesday concluded Bombardier benefited from improper government subsidies, giving it an unfair advantage when selling its CSeries jets south of the border.

Couil lard disagreed, saying the US$ 1 billion invested by the province in the CSeries program was not a subsidy and that no other investment in Bombardier was currently planned.

The company is being targeted by its larger U.S.-based aerospace rival even though Boeing has also benefited from decades of government assistance, the premier told a news conference Wednesday.

Boeing may have won this battle, but haven’t won the war, he added as he urged the Trudeau government to continue taking a hard line with Boeing until the dispute can be settled for good.

“Not a bolt, not a part, ( and) of course not a plane from Boeing (should be) entering Canada until this conflict is resolved in a satisfactory way,” Couillard said in Quebec City.

“How could we justify doing business with a company that wants to destroy Can- adian jobs in aerospace?” Couillard continued. “I’m very happy Mr. Trudeau has reacted until now and I know he will continue doing the same.”

Couillard said Tuesday’s announcement was not a positive development in U.S.Canada relations. Nonetheless, the Quebec government will continue to promote open markets, he said.

The U. S. workforce is also impacted by CSeries to the tune of 22,000 related jobs and an economic impact of $ 30 billion, he added. “To damage this will be to damage the U.S. economy.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May also weighed in Wednesday on the decision, tweeting that she was “bitterly disappointed” in the finding.

She said her government “will continue to work with the company to protect vital jobs for Northern Ireland,” where Bombardier employs more than 4,000 people at its factories in Belfast.

The prime minister had previously lobbied President Donald Trump after U. S. aircraft maker Boeing alleged that Bombardier used unfair government subsidies to sell planes at artificially low prices.

May has a key alliance with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to support her minority government in Parliament.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned Boeing that its behaviour could jeopardize future U.K. defence contracts — though the defence ministry said existing contracts with Boeing would be honoured.

“We have contracts in place with Boeing for new maritime patrol aircraft and for Apache attack helicopters and they will also be bidding for other defence work and this kind of behaviour clearly could jeopardize our future relationship with Boeing,” Fallon said.