Bombardier, canola stand to benefit from Chinese tariffs on U.S. planes

MONTREAL Bombardier Inc. stands to gain from Chinese retaliatory duties against U.S. small aircraft, but the outlook is mixed for Canada’s agricultural sector.

A 25 per cent tariff on aircraft weighing between 15 and 45 tonnes could prompt Chinese buyers to switch to Bombardier Global business jets from planes made by U.S. producer Gulfstream, said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group.

“One thing that’s pretty clear is that Gulfstream is a high priority target ... that definitely helps Bombardier a lot,” he said in an interview.

The result could be Bombardier gaining a bigger piece of the Chinese market, which accounts for about five per cent of global business jet sales.

China says it imposed retaliatory tariffs after Washington imposed 25 per cent duties on US$34 billion of imports from China on Friday.

Aboulafia calls the Chinese action “a shot across the bow” to the American aerospace sector by targeting lower volume airplanes.

An escalation has enormous potential for damage if China targets Boeing and its popular 737 Max, which would help Europe’s Airbus and its control of the C Series.

“It’s potentially not small potatoes. In terms of jetliners it’s enormous.”

Aboulafia said the U.S. tariffs against China’s aerospace sector makes no sense since the United States enjoys a 17:1 advantage in aerospace trade. U.S. aerospace exports to China were US$16.3 billion in 2017 while imports were only US$956 million.

Bombardier declined to comment on the trade skirmish between the world’s two largest economies.

The impact on Canada’s agricultural market is mixed, with canola standing to gain from challenges facing soybeans.

Soy Canada executive director Ron Davidson said a sharp decrease in soybean prices since trade warnings surfaced exceed any potential gain in Canadian exports to China.

“Certainly the negative side far outweighs the opportunities for some potential small amount of gain on the positive side,” he said.

While Canada could add to the two million tonnes of soybeans shipped to China last year, lower prices hurt the entire Canadian crop of about seven million tonnes, whether sold in Canada or to other export markets.