‘U.K. WILL PROTECT BOMBARDIER JOBS’
Spat threatens livelihood of thousands in Belfast, says minister
BRITAIN, caught in the crossfire of a damaging trade dispute between planemakers Boeing and Bombardier, said on Sunday it would fight to protect thousands of jobs at risk in Northern Ireland.
Trade minister Liam Fox said Britain was working to find a resolution after the United States last week responded to a complaint by Boeing by imposing a 220 per cent preliminary duty on Bombardier’s CSeries jets, whose wings are made in Belfast.
“We’ve said that we will fight our corner,” Fox told the annual Conservative Party conference. “We’ve been caught in the crossfire of a much larger dispute.”
“It worries me that we’re seeing a rise in protectionist behaviour The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) has pointed out protectionism always ends badly. If we can get them to have a resolution, which is what we are trying to do quietly, so much the better.”
The tariff, which will take effect only if the US International Trade Commission backs Boeing in a final decision next year, has dealt a major blow to the Canadian company’s flagship project.
It has also cast a huge shadow over Northern Ireland, where Bombardier is the most important manufacturer and a pillar of Belfast’s economy, employing 4,200 people and supporting thousands more in the supply chain.
And it also undermines the assurances by Brexit campaigners such as Fox that free trade and London’s close ties with Washington will drive Britain’s prosperity and global influence after it leaves the European Union. Reuters