WASHINGTON: The US Commerce Department on Friday slapped more duties on imports of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier’s new CSeries jetliners.
One week after announcing a 220 per cent countervailing duty on the aircraft, the United States added another “preliminary” anti-dumping duty of 80 per cent.
The moves stem from a complaint by US aerospace giant Boeing alleging Bombardier had unfairly benefited from state subsidies that allowed it to sell 75 CSeries aircraft at below cost to Delta Airlines.
“The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
“We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while do everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers.” According to Boeing’s complaint, Bombardier sold its CS100 for $19.6 million each, or $13.6 million below cost.
It also said Bombardier received more than $3 billion in subsidies from Ottawa and the Quebec government.
A final decision is expected on December 19.
If confirmed, the levies would be applied to the CSeries when they are delivered to Delta starting in spring 2018.
The jetliner is the first new design in the 100- to 150-seat category in more than 25 years, and only just started to roll off assembly lines.
Ottawa and Bombardier reacted angrily to the duties, accusing Boeing of manipulating the US trade remedy system to try to prevent a new competitor from selling in the key US aviation market.
“We are extremely disappointed by and in complete disagreement with the US Department of Commerce’s preliminary determination in the anti-dumping investigation of exports of large aircraft from Canada,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.— AFP
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