British Prime Minister Theresa May has appealed directly to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in a dispute between Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier and Boeing. Boeingthinks Canadian government subsidies allowed Bombardier to cut an especially sweet deal with Delta for 75 of its new CSeries airliners and lodged a dumping complaint with the U.S. Commerce Department. A decision will be made Sept. 26 on the charges. CSeries wings are made in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and that’s a politically important area for May. She reportedly phoned Trump earlier this week. Now, she’s joining forces with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to pressure Trump into getting involved. May will be in Ottawa Sept. 18 and high on the agenda is a meeting with Trudeau about the Boeing dispute.
If the U.S. agrees with the dumping charge, it could impose crippling penalties on Bombardier that would essentially block access to the U.S. market for the CSeries. The Canadian government has already taken a hard line with Boeing over the dispute, which could cost thousands of jobs in Quebec, where Trudeau’s Liberal Party needs to bolster support. Canada has threatened to cancel a tentative order for 18 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets if the U.S. presses the complaint. Boeing bid for the Delta contract with 737 MAX aircraft, which are substantially larger than the 100-seat CS100s that Delta bought to modernize itsregional fleet.
