Theresa May threatens US TRADE WAR over Bombardier row

Prime Minister Theresa May and union bosses were
stunned when the US Department of Commerce (DoC)
decided to impose a tariff on nearly 220 per cent on
imports on a new model passenger jet made by
Bombardier after Boeing complained the company had
been given unfair state aid from the UK and Canada.
The ruling marked a setback to Mrs May’s hopes of a
swift UK-US trade deal after Britain leaves the
European Union.
The Prime Minister appealed directly to Mr Trump to
take intervene in the dispute.
She said she was “bitterly disappointed” with the DoC
decision and said Boeing’s long-term partnership with
the UK Government was being “undermined by this
behaviour”.
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Canadian multinational Bombardier is one of Northern
Ireland’s biggest employers and the DoC impose tariff
has left 14,000 jobs at risk.
Mrs May said: "We are very clear about the
importance of Bombardier and the importance of those
jobs in Northern Ireland and we will be doing
everything we can to ensure that we can see those
jobs being guaranteed in future.”
The UK Government said the ruling “could jeopardise”
future Ministry of Defence contracts for its aircrafts
such as Apache helicopters.
Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, echoed Mrs
May comments.
Theresa May has threatened a UK-US trade war over
the Bombardier row
He
said:
“This is
not the
kind of
behaviour we expect from a long-term partner.
“We have contracts in place with Boeing for new
maritime patrol aircraft and for Apache attack
helicopters and they will also be bidding for other
defence work and this kind of behaviour clearly could
jeopardise our future relationship with Boeing.”
The Ministry of Defence said: “Boeing's position in this
case is unjustified and not what we expect of a long-
term partner to the UK.
“Whilst this will not affect our existing programmes,
these actions could undermine our future relationship
and programmes.”
Mrs May ordered ministers to “engage intensively” with
Boeing, the US administration and others to try to
resolve the situation.
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Allie Renison, head of EU and trade policy for the
Institute of Directors told the Telegraph the dispute
could be a “take of things to come” when Britain takes
back responsibility for trade relations once it leaves
the bloc.
She said: “It’s a little unhelpful news at the moment
given the US is meant to be our first port of call for
trade.
“After Brexit we’ll have to make decisions and be the
subject of decisions including from the US on tariffs
and we’d have to work out how we’d respond.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "I hope that it
can be resolved speedily and obviously we're very
disappointed by the result.
The UK Government said the ruling ‘could jeopardise’
future Ministry of Defence contracts
“We will be looking at what we can do to ensure free
and fair trade to make sure thatBombardier gets a fair
crack of the whip.”
Meanwhile, Bombardier said it would fight the “absurd”
ruling.
But unions warned the DoC decision was “unlikely” to
be overturned by Mr Trump - who has been clear in his
aim to fiercely protect jobs in the US.
Russ Murdoch, the GMB union’s national officer, said
the ruling was a “hammer bloc” to Belfast and risked
sending shock waves through Northern Ireland’s
economy.
He said: “Theresa May has been asleep at the wheel
when she could and should have been fighting to
protect these workers. It's high time she woke up.”

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