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Punitive export tariff placed on planes made in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland jobs at risk as Bombardier jets hit by huge export tariffs
(35 minutes later)
One of Northern Ireland’s largest employers faces paying a punitive tariff on its exports of planes to the US after losing the first stage of an international trade dispute. One of Northern Ireland’s largest employers faces paying a punitive tariff on its exports of passenger jets to the US after losing the first stage of an international trade dispute.
Aerospace manufacturer Bombardier employs more than 4,000 at its Belfast factories and is due to begin delivering a blockbuster order for up to 125 new jets to Atlanta-based Delta Airlines next year. The US department of commerce ruled in favour of Boeing in its legal battle with Bombardier, prompting fears in Northern Ireland that aerospace jobs in the region could be in peril.
But the Canadian-owned multinational suffered a major blow on Tuesday night after a preliminary finding from the US Department of Commerce imposed an intermediary tariff of 219.63%. An interim tariff of of 219.63% has been proposed on sales of Bombardier’s C-Series jet to the US airline Delta.
Rival Boeing claimed Bombardier received unfair state subsidies from the UK and Canada, allowing the sale of airliners at below cost prices in the US. Boeing took its Canadian plane-making rival to court in the US, alleging it had received unfair, anti-competitive state support from the Quebec regional government.
US secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross said: “The US values its relationships with Canada, but even our closest allies must play by the rules. Bombardier is Northern Ireland’s biggest hi-tech employer with more than 4,000 workers at its east Belfast plant.
“The subsidisation of goods by foreign governments is something that the Trump administration takes very seriously, and we will continue to evaluate and verify the accuracy of this preliminary determination.” About 1,000 jobs are linked to its C-Series project – the construction of wings and the fuselage for a new series of passenger jets for Delta, which Bombardier won the contract for.
But the US department of commerce said on Tuesday: “Boeing claimed that Bombardier’s C-Series aircraft, part of which is made in Belfast, are being ‘subsidised’, in part, due to a $1bn bailout by the regional Quebec government in Canada.”
Both sides will have to wait until February for a final ruling on the pricing policy to be made by official US agencies, trade unionists said.
Bombardier supports hundreds of other jobs in Northern Ireland through its suppliers and has been a major employer in the region for almost 30 years.
The operation’s immediate future was secured after Bombardier signed a $5.6bn (£4.1bn) deal last year to provide its new aircraft to Delta Airlines.
Canada’s foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland reacted angrily to the decision saying it was “clearly aimed at eliminating” Bombardier’s narrow body jets from the US market.
The largest trade union represented at the Bombardier Belfast factory, Unite, expressed its acute disappointment over the decision.
Jimmy Kelly, Unite’s regional secretary in Northern Ireland said: “Today’s decision in favour of Boeing’s allegations of anti-competitive pricing poses a direct and very serious threat to the 4,500 Bombardier jobs in Belfast and many more dependent on them across our service sector and in the wider supply chain.
“This would cause serious damage to our economy and to our society – which needs a robust economy to underpin our society’s continued political progress and the path to reconciliation.
“Despite this ruling, Boeing’s case is without merit – they suffered no detriment from Bombardier’s success in winning the Delta order. Unite is supportive of the Bombardier defence and we are determined to ensure no fallout in regard to the jobs of our members.”
Theresa May had personally lobbied Donald Trump to persuade Boeing to drop its legal action against Bombardier, given the threat to Northern Irish jobs.
Earlier on Tuesday, Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire met members of Unite in Belfast.
After that meeting he said: “The UK government believes clearly that the support that we have given through repayable launch investment to the C-Series project is legitimate, is lawful, is within World Trade Organisation rules and therefore that the actions that have been brought around this case are unwarranted.”
A UK government spokeswoman said after the decision: “This is a disappointing interim statement but only the first step in the process. As the Prime Minister said last week, we will continue to strongly defend UK interests in support of Bombardier at the very highest level because an adverse outcome risks jobs and livelihoods among the 4,200 skilled workers in Belfast.
“Boeing’s position in this case is unjustified and frankly not what we would expect of a long-term partner to the UK – as well as damaging the wider global aerospace industry.”
Joe Walters, who is in his 30s and works in material logistics at the Bombardier plant in east Belfast, told the Guardian there are a lot of older workers at the factory seeking to get out of the company as a result from the US ruling.
Walters said he wanted May and the British government to take a harder line with Boeing to end the dispute with Bombardier.
“The Canadian government has already stated that it will not do business with Boeing if it continues to try to break Bombardier. The British government needs to be as hardline as that.
“It’s simple, forget appealing to Donald Trump – he’s too busy trying to kill us all with his contest with North Korea.”