U. S. TARIFF ON BOMBARDIER STANDS — FOR NOW.
292.31 per cent duty could still be overturned
TORON TO • The United States Department of Commerce has upheld its preliminary decision and hit Bombardier Inc. with a slightly lower 292.31- per- cent tariff after it concluded the Montreal-based company had been dumping its CSeries aircraft into the U. S. and received countervailing subsidies.
The Department of Commerce’s final investigation found that Bombardier had sold CSeries jets to U. S. carrier Delta Air Lines Ltd. at 79.82 per cent less than fair value and that the company had received unfair subsidies at a rate of 212.39 per cent — slightly less than the preliminary rate it had calculated of 220 per cent.
In October, the Department of Commerce had hit Bombardier with a 79.82-per-cent anti-dumping duty and 220- per- cent duty over its use of countervailing subsidies.
Boeing Co. , which launched the petition over the sale of 75 CSeries aircraft to Delta, said in a statement that the decision validates its complaint.
“Boeing is seeking a level playing field in the aerospace market and adherence to globally accepted agreements governing free and fair trade,” the company said.
Bombardier did not immediately provide comment.
Boeing accused Bombardier of embarking on “an aggressive campaign to dump its CSeries aircraft in the United States” and offering the new jet to Delta at an “absurdly low price.”
While the duty is substantial, it is not necessarily final. The Commerce Department’s decision could be overturned if the United States International Trade Commission finds that Boeing did not suffer material injury as a result of the Delta sale. The commission’s final decision is expected on Feb. 1.
U. S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement that the decision was “based on a full and unbiased review of the facts in an open and transparent process.
“The United States is committed to a free, fair and reciprocal trade and will always stand up for American workers and companies being harmed by unfair imports,” Ross said.
The decision comes two days after David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to Washington, urged the ITC tribunal not to impose duties on Bombardier planes, arguing that potential duties were illegitimate, that the CSeries does not compete with similar- sized Boeing jets, and that duties would ultimately hurt the U. S. as Bombardier provides 23,000 jobs in nine states.
“What we are seeing is because of, in large measure, the rhetoric that exists in the United States at the present moment — and I’m not just referring to one source of the rhetoric, I’m talking broadly about anti- trade rhetoric — it has given U. S. companies the permission to take action they wouldn’t have taken before,” MacNaughton told reporters outside Monday’s hearing. “The real danger of this is it’s going to have a negative impact on U.S. jobs.”
However, Boeing argued that public subsidies given to Bombardier have allowed it to survive and creep into potential markets.
“Boeing makes the best airplanes in the world. But we can’t compete with companies funded and backed by governments,” head of Boe- ing Commercial Airplanes Kevin McAllister told the tribunal.
Earlier this month, the Canadian government confirmed it had ditched plans to buy 18 Super Hornet fighter jets from Boeing, opting instead to purchase 18 second- hand F-18s from Australia. The government also launched a program to buy up to $ 19 billion worth of new fighter jets, which included a provision that appeared to be aimed at Boeing in that “any bidder that is responsible for harm to Canada’s economic interests will be at a distinct disadvantage.”