US seeks 300pc duties on Bombardier jets

THE US is seeking to impose even more tariffs on Bombardier’s aircraft, which are built in Northern Ireland, proposing increasing trade duties on the C Series jets to almost 300pc.

Last week, the US department of commerce said the C Series should be subject to 219pc import duty, due to subsidies Bombardier gets from Canada and the UK.

Yesterday, it ruled to impose a further 80pc tariff on the import of the jets for alleged underselling, after Boeing, its American aviation rival, claimed they were sold at “absurdly low” prices.

The wings of those jets are built in Belfast and Bombardier employs more than 4,000 people at its factories. The additional rise is likely to intensify already-strained relations between the UK and US, after the Government last week threatened a trade war over the levies. The MOD had said Boeing’s behaviour in the dispute “could jeopardise” its future contracts the Government – a statement supported by Theresa May.

It comes after the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, on which Mrs May relies for backing in Parliament, with later vowed to use her influence with the Government to challenge the “completely unjustifiable” ruling.

Boeing complained the C Series was “being dumped” on the US at unfairly low prices and said state subsidies helped Bombardier to win a major order. In its original complaint, however, Boeing had only sought 80pc duty on the Bombardier jets. It could triple the cost of the C Series jets in the US.

Boeing said: “These duties are the consequence of a conscious decision by Bombardier to violate trade law and dump their C Series aircraft to secure a sale. This dumping in our home market was not a situation Boeing could ignore, we’re now simply asking for laws already on the books to be enforced.”

Bombardier denies the charge that it is dumping.