Good news for the workers at Bombardier tonight, as the US government’s proposal to slap duties of nearly 300 percent on it to protect Boeing’s commercial interests with US airlines was thrown out by the U.S. International Trade Commission:
The 4-0 decision is defeat for Boeing, which had argued that Bombardier’s trade practices were illegal and harmful to its business. Bombardier argued that Boeing did not have a comparable plane to offer Delta.
However…
The dispute may not be over. Boeing could appeal to the International Court of Trade in New York. The U.S. government could take the case to the World Trade Organization.
Boeing said it would “continue to document any harm to Boeing and our extensive U.S. supply chain that results from illegal subsidies and dumped pricing.”
There appear to be two things in Bombardier’s favour. More obviously is that the ITC accepts that the C Series is not a direct rival to Boeing.
But there is also the aerospace industry’s dirty wee secret which is that it nearly always relies on state subsidy to pay for innovative design.
And that really should play a part in any actions going forward.
“Unveiling of C Series.” by “NI Executive” is licensed under “CC“
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
