Canadian aircraft company Bombardier has won a major trade dispute against Donald Trump’s government, which wanted to impose huge taxes on their products.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montreal, with plants in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, and North Bay, Ontario, employs 27,000 people, and has suppliers around the world.
The issue began last year when rival US company Boeing complained that Bombardier was selling their C-series planes to American carriers for less than they cost to make.
The US Department of Commerce ruled in Boeing’s favour and suggested imposing a tax of 292% on all imports of Bombardier’s C-series planes.
However, in a surprise decision on Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided Bombardier’s planes “do not injure US industry.”
In a release, a Bombardier spokesperson said the ruling was a victory for innovation, competition, the rule of law, US airlines, and the US travelling public.
“The C Series is the most innovative and efficient new aircraft in a generation,” read the release. “Its development and production represent thousands of jobs in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.”
For its part, Boeing released a statement saying it disagreed with the decision and argued that Bombardier’s “violations” have harmed the US aerospace industry.
“We are disappointed that the International Trade Commission did not recognize the harm that Boeing has suffered from the billions of dollars in illegal government subsidies that the Department of Commerce found Bombardier received and used to dump aircraft in the US small single-aisle airplane market,” read the release.
“We will not stand by as Bombardier’s illegal business practices continue to harm American workers and the aerospace industry they support,” it said.