Bombardier trade bust-up investigated
THE Government’s role in the trade dispute between US aerospace giant Boeing and Canadian rival Bombardier is being investigated by MPs.
Fears of a transatlantic trade war erupted last week after Washington put tariffs of 220pc on imports into the US of Bombardier C-Series aircraft, which are partly built in Belfast.
The interim decision by the US department of commerce, which followed a complaint by Boeing, has put up to 14,000 jobs at risk in northern Ireland, where the wings are made.
Angus Macneil, chairman of the Commons international trade committee, has now demanded answers about the dispute from ministers.
In a letter to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, the SnP MP warned that the US decision to impose such punitive tariffs ‘is entirely prohibitive to trade’.
Macneil demanded to know what discussions were held between Fox’s department and Washington prior to the news, adding: ‘To what extent does this decision indicate the US government is taking a more protectionist stance to international trade.’
The ruling against Bombardier was an embarrassment for Theresa May after she personally lobbied Donald Trump over the dispute. It also marked a major setback to Fox’s hopes of securing a swift trade deal with the US after Brexit, and put a strain on the Prime Minister’s powersharing deal with northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party.
Bombardier has 4,200 workers in Belfast, but supports 10,000 jobs in the supply chain in northern Ireland.
It recently won a £4.2bn contract to supply 125 C-Series aircraft to Delta Airlines in the US, with the carbonfibre wings due to be built at a £520m factory in Belfast before being shipped to Canada.
But Boeing claimed the firm was able to sell the C-Series planes for less than they cost to build thanks to financial help from the Canadian and British governments.
The Government has threatened to block Boeing from future defence contracts worth billions of pounds unless it backs down – further dampening hopes that Fox can secure a trade deal with the US after Brexit.
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney told US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross that the impact of the ruling on the northern Ireland economy ‘would be pronounced’ unless it is reversed – and could threaten the peace process. ‘It is important that the Irish Government’s concerns on the potential fallout are conveyed at the highest level,’ he said.