Airbus and Boeing agree: No one wins a trade war

The world’s two largest planemakers are fierce rivals who aren’t above employing hardball geopolitics if it will gain them an edge.

Yet the chief executive officer of US manufacturer Boeing Co. and the commercial chief at European rival Airbus SE want no part of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. They agree that nothing good will come from the tension that’s been gathering momentum over recent weeks.

Speaking at the Farnborough air show south of London on Monday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg made the case that finding a solution to the dispute is essential because the aerospace industry relies on the free flow of goods. His stance was seconded by Guillaume Faury, who runs Airbus’s operation making jetliners for airlines across the globe, using parts shipped in from dozens of countries.

“There will be no winner if there’s a trade war around the world,” Faury said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Aviation will continue to be international. We are based in the US, in Europe, in China, we do business across those blocs.”

Airbus and Boeing are locked in a global duopoly for most of their aircraft, so any imbalance stands to hand the other side an advantage. While Muilenburg said the risk of Airbus benefiting from the current trade spat is “a concern we have,” he dismissed the notion of any sudden shifts in order or backlog patterns because the industry is long-term and Boeing has an established presence in China.

Aerospace is the biggest trade-surplus generator in the US and provides key manufacturing jobs, while China relies on foreign aircraft to help fuel economic growth, Muilenburg said.

“We are concerned about some of the discussions right now around trade,” the CEO said in a separate interview with Bloomberg Television. “Our aerospace business thrives on free and open global trade and we’re hopeful we’re going to find solutions as alternatives to some of the tariff discussions that have been going on.” (Bloomberg)