Airbus Says Non-U.S. Orders Get Priority If Tariffs Imposed

Airbus says it may divert deliveries from the U.S. if tariffs raise prices to its American customers. In an unusually blunt statement at a company news conference last week CEO Guillaume Faury said he would not hesitate to "prioritize deliveries" to non-U.S. customers if the government imposes any of the wide ranging tariffs that have been discussed.

Most of Airbus's production is in Europe but it also builds single aisle airplanes in Canada and the U.S. A220s made in Canada would presumably be subject to 25 percent tariffs that were postponed but are now set to come into force on March 4. Production at Airbus's A320 and A220 assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama relies on imported parts which would be subject to any tariffs on the countries that build them.

The news conference was actually called to talk about Airbus's 2024 results, which the company said met expectations. The company delivered 766 planes (75 A220s, 620 A320/321, 32 A330s and 57 A350s) and collected 69.2 billion Euros in revenue. Its order book is at about 629 billion Euros.