US trade commission blocks 300% tariffs on CSeries jets
washington — A bipartisan US trade panel on Friday blocked the government’s decision to impose nearly 300 per cent punitive tariffs on airplanes manufactured by Canada’s Bombardier, in a dispute that has inflamed relations with Ottawa.
The US International Trade Commission voted 4-0 that there was no injury to US manufacturers, which effectively forces President Donald Trump’s Commerce Department to reverse course on the retaliatory measures designed to protect Boeing.
The failure to back up the Commerce Department was a rare move by the panel, but it will not release an explanation of its reasoning until March.
Boeing filed a trade complaint after Delta Air Lines placed an order for 75 of the CSeries jets, which can seat between 100 and 150 passengers, and found a receptive ear in the Trump administration, which has ratcheted up adversarial trade actions.
Although none of the planes have been delivered, the Commerce Department ruled that the aircraft benefited from unfair subsidies and were sold below cost, allowing Bombardier to have an advantage over Boeing.
“Today’s decision is a victory for innovation, competition and the rule of law. It is also a victory for US airlines and the US traveling public,” Bombardier said in a statement shortly after the vote.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Ottawa was likewise “very pleased” with the ruling.
“The government of Canada will always vigorously defend the Canadian aerospace industry and its workers against protectionist trade policies,” she said in a statement.
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May described the decision as “good news for British industry.”
“Bombardier and its innovative workforce play a vital role in the Northern Ireland economy,” she wrote on Twitter.
The ruling comes as fraught talks are underway this week in Montreal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Shares in Bombardier jumped higher on the news, finishing up more than 15 per cent in Toronto. — AFP