Bombardier blasts America over tariffs

BOMBARDIER’S boss has blasted the US Government’s decision to enforce a massive

300pc tariff on the sale of its part-Belfast made planes to US buyers.

Alain Bellemare said the decision was “ridiculous”, and claimed there was “no case” for rival Boeing’s complaint.

Union leaders have warned that jobs could be “crushed” after the US Department of Commerce, headed by Wilbur Ross, confirmed plans to impose duties of almost 300pc.

Bombardier employs around

4,000 workers in the North, with teams here building the wings of the C Series planes, and part of the fuselage.

Mr Bellemare told CNBC that “there’s no case here”.

“When you launch a new program you have aggressive pricing to start with... Boeing does the same thing,” he told the broadcaster.

Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said while the result “was not unexpected given where we are in this dispute process, it appears the Commerce Department has gone a degree further by moving tariffs onto not only fully- but partially-assembled C Series aircraft”.

Earlier this year, Boeing took a challenge over the sale of Bombardier’s C Series.

It claimed the planes were unfairly subsidised by the Canadian government and the firm was “dumping aircraft” by selling them below cost.

“This essentially moves all the supply chain into view and could have serious implications for all UK aerospace firms in the future,” Mr Kelly said.

“It further confirms our view that this nonsense approach by the US authorities must be challenged on a UK national level and not seen as simply a problem for Belfast and Northern Ireland.