AFP, Washington :
The United States announced Tuesday it was imposing preliminary anti-dumping duties of 220 percent on CSeries jets made by Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier following a complaint by American manufacturer Boeing.
The Commerce Department ruled that Bombardier had unfairly benefited from state subsidies in selling its 100- to 150-seat aircraft below cost to Delta Airlines.
Both Canada and the United Kingdom, where some of the parts are built, had sought to persuade the US to drop the case.
“The US values its relationships with Canada, but even our closest allies must play by the rules,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in explaining the move.
“The subsidization of goods by foreign governments is something that the Trump administration takes very seriously, and we will continue to evaluate and verify the accuracy of this preliminary determination.”
The ruling, which is set for a final determination on December 12, could further test relations between Ottawa and Washington, already strained by the ongoing renegotiation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which also involves Mexico.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland stressed that the US investigation was only in its preliminary stages and duties can only be imposed once the final probe is completed.
“Canada strongly disagrees with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of Canadian large civil aircraft. This is clearly aimed at eliminating Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft from the US market,” she said.
The United States announced Tuesday it was imposing preliminary anti-dumping duties of 220 percent on CSeries jets made by Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier following a complaint by American manufacturer Boeing.
The Commerce Department ruled that Bombardier had unfairly benefited from state subsidies in selling its 100- to 150-seat aircraft below cost to Delta Airlines.
Both Canada and the United Kingdom, where some of the parts are built, had sought to persuade the US to drop the case.
“The US values its relationships with Canada, but even our closest allies must play by the rules,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in explaining the move.
“The subsidization of goods by foreign governments is something that the Trump administration takes very seriously, and we will continue to evaluate and verify the accuracy of this preliminary determination.”
The ruling, which is set for a final determination on December 12, could further test relations between Ottawa and Washington, already strained by the ongoing renegotiation of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which also involves Mexico.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland stressed that the US investigation was only in its preliminary stages and duties can only be imposed once the final probe is completed.
“Canada strongly disagrees with the anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into imports of Canadian large civil aircraft. This is clearly aimed at eliminating Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft from the US market,” she said.
