Canadian firm Bombardier, which has a factory in the Northern Irish capital, has come under criticism from American rival Boeing over a contract awarded to Bombardier last year to supply 125 C Series passenger jets to US airline, Delta.
The Belfast factory makes the wings for the C Series planes, and the aircraft project supports hundreds of jobs in the city.
In April, Boeing complained to US authorities that the deal for the new aircraft was unfairly subsidised by the Canadian state, with the US Department of Commerce set to make a ruling later this month.
Bombardier could be hit with punitive tariffs, making any future US customers for the C Series jets hard to find.
Boeing argue that Bombardier have engaged in ‘price dumping’, having sold 75 of their planes for almost $14m (£10.6m) under their cost price. It said it had appealed to the International Trade Commission to “restore a level playing field in the US single-aisle airplane market.”
Prime Minster Theresa May telephoned US President Donald Trump last week, and Business Secretary Greg Clark flew to Chicago to meet with Boeing’s chairman, president and CEO, Dennis Muilenburg.
“Ministers across government have engaged swiftly and extensively with Boeing, Bombardier, the US and Canadian governments,” said a government spokesperson. “Our priority is to encourage Boeing to drop its case and seek a negotiated settlement with Bombardier.”
In a statement, Boeing said the company “had to take action as subsidised competition has hurt us now and will continue to hurt us for years to come … Global trade only works if everyone plays by the same rules of the road, and that’s a principle that ultimately creates the greatest value for Canada, the UK, the US and our aerospace industry.”
In response, Bombardier called Boeing’s accusation “absurd”, saying that the investment “complies with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions where we do business.”
The news caps a turbulent 12 months for Bombardier in Belfast, with the company announcing they were making over 1,000 redundancies – around 20% of the workforce – in October last year.
