Airbus to enter into partnership with Bombardier for C-Series program

PARIS (AFP) – In the face of a bitter trade dispute with Boeing, Airbus announced it would take a majority stake in Bombardier's marquee C-Series airliner program, as the Canadian firm battles a stiff tariff ruling in the US.

The landmark agreement comes after the US administration slapped a 220 percent countervailing duty, as well as an 80 percent anti-dumping tax, on Bombardier CS100 and CS300 aircraft imported into the United States.

Boeing accuses Bombardier of manufacturing its 100-150 seat planes with public subsidies and selling them at a loss to Delta Air Lines.

The agreement between Airbus and Bombardier aims to allow for significant production savings on the C-Series aircraft and to make use of Airbus's international reach for sales, the two groups said in a statement.

''It's a win-win deal for everyone,'' said the president of Airbus, Tom Enders.

''I have no doubt that our partnership with Bombardier will boost sales and the value of this program enormously.'' A Boeing spokesman told AFP that the deal represented ''a questionable agreement between two competitors, both heavily dependent on state subsidies, to circumvent,'' recent American decisions on tariffs and anti-dumping taxes.

Airbus will take approximately 50.01 percent of the shares in CSALP, the entity which manages the C-Series program, with Bombardier and Investissement Quebec holding 31 and 19 percent respectively.