Page 16 - AAA MARCH - APRIL 2018 Online Magazine
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SPRINGING A The charges leveled by the American avia-
tion giant were severe in nature. “Propelled
SURPRISE by massive, supply-creating and illegal
government subsidies, Bombardier has
embarked on an aggressive campaign to
dump its C Series aircraft in the United
The trade dispute States,” Boeing had alleged. The sale
between Boeing of Bombardier C Series jets to Delta Air
and Bombardier not Lines, at US$19.6 million each when the
only produced an company’s true production costs is about
unlikely result but US$33.2 million for an aircraft, set a “new,
also transformed low price ceiling,” it had added. It had also
the commercial contended that the C Series was saved
from financial collapse by large subsidies
aerospace from the governments of Canada and the
landscape United Kingdom.
Contrasting Moods
While Bombardier termed the ruling as a
“victory for innovation, competition, and
the rule of law,” Boeing expressed disap-
pointment that the commission did not
recognise “the harm” that it had suffered
from “the billions of dollars in illegal gov-
ernment subsidies that the Department of
Commerce found Bombardier received and
used to dump aircraft in the U. S. small sin-
Arun Sivasankaran gle-aisle airplane market.”
The American aviation giant struck a
combative note as well in its statement,
uch like a well-made thriller with a twist that no saying that it remains confident in the
one saw coming, the protracted trade dispute facts of the case. “We will not stand by
between Boeing and Bombardier sprung a result as Bombardier’s illegal business practices
Mthat took nearly everyone in the aviation industry continue to harm American workers and the
by surprise. It also emphatically proved the limitations of aerospace industry they support. Global
protectionism in an industry that is truly global in nature. trade only works if everyone adheres to the
To this day, the verdict remains a stunner, even though it rules we have all agreed to. That’s a belief
has been a few weeks since the U.S. International Trade we will continue to defend,” it said.
Commission (ITC) ruled unanimously in favor of Bombardier. The ruling in favor of the Canadian com-
Going into the final stretch, Boeing, which had taken umbrage pany, when the odds appeared stacked
at Bombardier’s sale of 75 C Series jets to Delta Air Lines against it from the beginning, is significant
and accused the Canadian company of “dumping” the aircraft not just for the two companies involved
in the U.S. market by selling them at “absurdly low prices,” but also the aviation industry. It proves that
appeared to hold all the aces. the industry is largely impervious to trends
However, it took less than ten minutes for all the pundits such as protectionism, thanks mainly to its
to be proved wrong. The ITC, which had in its preliminary global nature and the market forces at play.
ruling said that Boeing presented “a reasonable indication” Boeing can still appeal the ruling, before
of harm to its business, voted unanimously that Boeing was the International Court of Trade in New
not harmed by Bombardier and its all-new C Series jet. York, but many industry watchers do not
Bombardier had all along held that Boeing does not have a expect it to, or even if it did, for the verdict
product comparable to the CS100’s size and performance.
16 | March/April 2018 www.GBP.com.sg/AAA
