Fallon Gets Tough On Trade Dispute Between Boeing And Bombardier

The Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has warned that Boeing’s trade dispute with Bombardier could threaten its trading relationship with the government, along with thousands of jobs in Belfast.

A complaint made by Boeing has seen the US Department of Commerce propose a 220% tariff on the sale of Bombardier’s new C series jets.

The wings of the jets are manufactured in Belfast, giving rise to Fallon’s warning.

Consequently, Fallon delivered the clear message to Boeing that this could jeopardise lucrative defence contracts within the UK.

He said:

"Boeing is a major defence partner and one of the big winners of the latest defence review so this is not the kind of behaviour we expect from a long-term partner.

"This is not the behaviour we expect of Boeing and could indeed jeopardise our future relationship with Boeing."

He added:

"Boeing stand to gain a lot of British defence spending.

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."

More than 4,000 people are employed in Belfast by Bombardier.

The future of the C Series jets appeared secure after Bombardier signed a 5.6 billion US dollar (£4.16 billion) deal in 2016 to provide the aircraft.