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 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| The brain trust at Boeing, among the city's largest companies and a global aerospace and defense powerhouse, must cringe every time President-elect Donald Trump riffs on foreign policy, especially when it comes to dealing with China. 
 
 Admittedly, that's my supposition because Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's CEO, has made only measured comments about the administration's emerging international views. 
 
 But count on a mercurial Trump administration to test the Boeing CEO's statesmanship, especially when it comes to dealing with China — a multibillion-dollar Boeing commercial airline customer. 
 
 It looks like Trump is eager for a China confrontation. This week, he launched a Twitter barrage chiding that country's trade, monetary and political policies. His comments came after he participated in a controversial phone call with the leader of Taiwan that China — which considers the island a rebel province — viewed as an insult. 
 
 The last thing Boeing, with $96 billion in annual revenues, wants is an international trade war that could raise tariffs or greatly disrupt long-standing, albeit imperfect, global agreements. Boeing risks retaliation and facing greater state-backed overseas competition. 
 
 However, in remarks before the Illinois Manufacturers' Association last week, Muilenburg conceded there's more populist concern about international pacts than before the 2016 election campaign. 
 
 "I'm not a political pundit or prognosticator — we have too many of those — but anyone who paid attention to the recent campaigns and the election results realizes that one of the overarching themes was apprehension about free and fair trade," he said. 
 
 Muilenburg argues that international trade is essential to the U.S. economy and its importance is reflected in the "large and growing percentage of our business" coming from international sales, including commercial jet orders from China. 
 
 "Last year, we delivered 495 737s from our factory in Renton, Wash., to customers around the world. One in every 3 of those 737s were bound for China. And about a quarter of all our airplane deliveries … were bound for Chinese customers. This phenomenon would have been unimaginable when I started at the company in 1985," said Muilenburg, who began his Boeing career as an aerospace engineer. 
 
 A steady influx of China commercial jet orders means more work for Boeing's thousands of U.S. workers while also providing lift for its network of domestic parts supplier and vendors. 
 
 Around 90 percent of Boeing's total workforce of 151,000 people and 80 percent of its thousands of suppliers are U.S.-based, according to Boeing. 
 
 Last year, Boeing racked up $66 billion in revenues from its commercial aircraft business. 
 
 And while international sales grow, so does the competition. Boeing is up against European rival Airbus while Canada, Brazil, Russia — and yes, China — are trying to get pieces of the aerospace business. 
 
 Muilenburg suggests the Trump team, and Congress, back off from the 2016 anti-trade rhetoric and perceived threats to punish other countries with higher tariffs or fees. 
 
 Instead, he suggests they get down to the business of advocating a stronger U.S. agenda during ongoing or upcoming trade negotiations with other countries. 
 
 "If we do not lead when it comes to writing these rules, our competitors will write them for us," he said. 
 
 Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, right, speaks Dec. 2, 2016, at an Illinois Manufacturers' Association luncheon at the J.W. Marriott Chicago hotel downtown. Muilenburg argues that international trade is essential to the U.S. economy. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg, right, speaks Dec. 2, 2016, at an Illinois Manufacturers' Association luncheon at the J.W. Marriott Chicago hotel downtown. Muilenburg argues that international trade is essential to the U.S. economy. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) 
 
 The big unknown is Trump, who hasn't seen a major trade deal he likes yet. 
 
 He has criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement, a U.S. pact with Mexico and Canada, and wants to withdraw from the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. 
 
 Trump has blasted these deals for enabling U.S. companies to export work to less-expensive countries, hurting American workers. He also says too many countries are dumping cheap, government-subsidized steel and other goods into the U.S., which depresses demand for U.S.-made products and hurts job creation. 
 
 As President-elect Donald Trump's tweet puts Air Force One in the headlines, here's a look at the presidential plane through the years. 
 
 How nationalist will his new administration actually be and what form will that protectionism will take? Does that mean higher tariffs, sanctions, backing out of trade deals or more drastic measures? 
 
 Going into the next presidential administration, there's a lot of unanswered questions and concerns. 
 
 Right now, Boeing's CEO is waiting to see what comes next. 
 
 He's not alone. 
 
 roreed@chicagotribune.com 
 
 Twitter @reedtribbiz ||||| Boeing Co. Investors shrugged off President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to cancel an order with the aerospace giant to build Air Force One planes, after comments by the company and the White House suggested the numbers Trump quoted didn’t add up. 
 
 Boeing’s stock BA, -0.24% inched up 8 cents, or less than 0.1%, but had been down as much as 1.4% earlier in the session. 
 
 Based on 647.9 million shares outstanding as of Sept. 30, according to the company’s third-quarter report, the stock’s gain Boeing’s market capitalization by $51.8 million, a lot better than the $1.39 billion that was lost at the stock’s intraday low of $150.02. 
 
 The stock had dropped in morning trade after Trump tweeted that an order for Boeing to build a new Air Force One should be canceled because costs had risen to over $4 billion, which would be well more than double earlier budget estimates. 
 
 Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 
 
 He also told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower, where he works and lives, that the building of the plane was “totally out of control,” as costs were spiraling, according to ABC News. 
 
 “I think it’s ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number,” Trump said. “We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money.” 
 
 Trump claims new Air Force One "out of control": "We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money." https://t.co/pSI7kxR3uH pic.twitter.com/73qk508UA5 — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 6, 2016 
 
 But Boeing’s response to Trump’s comments suggested a very different number. 
 
 “We are currently under contract for $170 million to determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States,” Boeing said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer.” 
 
 The White House also questioned Trump’s numbers. 
 
 “I’d refer to my colleagues at the Department of Defense for the particulars of the procurement contract,” said press secretary Josh Earnest. “Some on the statistics that have been, uh, cited, shall we say, don’t appear to reflect the nature of the financial agreement between Boeing and the Department of Defense.” 
 
 Boeing had secured a contract in January to start work on the 747-8 jumbo jets that would replace the planes used as Air Force One beginning early next decade. Although the Pentagon didn’t disclose the expected cost of the two new planes at the time, earlier budget estimates put the cost at more than $1.6 billion. 
 
 Before Trump’s tweet, which was sent just before 9 a.m. Eastern, ahead of the stock market’s open, the stock had traded unchanged at $152.16. 
 
 FactSet 
 
 The stock slid to a premarket low of $149.75, down 1.6% from Monday’s close, before recovering slightly. Since the opening bell, the stock has traded within a range of $150.02 to $152.64. 
 
 Trump’s tweet and comments come after Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg made comments that could be interpreted as veiled criticism of Trump’s trade policies. In a speech to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association on Friday, Muilenburg cautioned against “antiglobalization sentiments” propagated by candidates before the election, and against pulling back from trade agreements “that have set the rules for international commerce for decades.” 
 
 Don’t miss: Opinion: The ‘market,’ it turns out, doesn’t love Donald Trump’s policies. 
 
 See also: What President-elect Trump means for every U.S. industry. 
 
 Boeing’s stock has gained 5.3% so far in 2016, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.33% has climbed 10.5%. Shares of Boeing rival Airbus Group SE AIR, +1.74% have lost 4.2% this year. 
 
 Rob Schroeder contributed to this report. ||||| This post has been updated. 
 
 Shares of stock in aircraft manufacturer Boeing fell nearly $2 a share before markets opened on Tuesday. 
 
 The reason? A tweet from the president-elect. 
 
 Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 
 
 Were Boeing to lose a $4 billion contract, that would certainly cause people to be skeptical of future earnings. But this, as seems always to be the case with Donald Trump tweets, is not the full story. 
 
 As our Christian Davenport reports, the contract with Boeing is currently $170 million. The government's plan to replace Air Force One actually involves two different planes which would serve future presidents for years to come. Boeing won the contract in 2015; the new planes are expected to be operational in about a decade. The $170 million isn't for manufacturing, after all. It's for Boeing's work "determin[ing] the capabilities" of the planes they will eventually produce. 
 
 It was natural to wonder, given the apparently unprompted nature of Trump's tweet, if part of his comment was meant to suggest he would prefer to use his existing aircraft for the job of the presidency. His campaign spent $6.7 million on his personal aircraft after he announced his candidacy, and he has called Air Force One "a step down" from his personal aircraft "in every way." (Not size, mind you.) Once Trump received a Secret Service detail, the agency paid $1.6 million for its agents to travel with him -- money that went to TAG Air, a company owned by Trump. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump documented the changes he made to his 757 jet in a 2011 video on his YouTube channel. (Donald Trump/YouTube) 
 
 Trump's current plane is also a Boeing. 
 
 The Air Force wouldn't let Trump keep using his plane as president, though, unless it were significantly upgraded. As CNN reported earlier this month, Trump's personal plane would need to be upgraded with critical functionality to serve as his official aircraft. That includes missile detection and avoidance systems, electromagnetic shielding, mid-air refueling mechanisms and confidential communications systems. The cost of those upgrades would be up to Trump. 
 
 As it turns out, though, the Trump tweet may not have been unprompted. CNN's Jake Tapper noted on Twitter that shortly before the tweet (which was posted at 8:52 a.m. Eastern) the Chicago Tribune posted an article quoting the company's CEO, Dennis Muilenberg. (The comments were made at a speech on Friday, not in an interview with the Tribune, as this article originally indicated.) 
 
 "Anyone who paid attention to the recent campaigns and the election results realizes that one of the overarching themes was apprehension about free and fair trade," Muilenberg said at the Illinois Manufacturing Association last week, as noted by Tribune columnist Robert Reed. Fair trade has helped Boeing, which prides itself on being America's largest manufacturing exporter. 
 
 "Last year, we delivered 495 737s from our factory in Renton, Wash., to customers around the world," Muilenberg continued, noting that a third of the planes were sent to China. "This phenomenon would have been unimaginable when I started at the company in 1985." 
 
 Those are pointed comments. It was Trump, of course, who robustly criticized free trade during the general election. And it is Trump who, this week, seemed to threaten a trade war with China. 
 
 Shortly after tweeting that Boeing's contract to build the next Air Force One should be canceled, Dec. 6, President-elect Trump told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower he wants the company "to make a lot of money but not that much money." (The Washington Post) 
 
 That story has a dateline of 7:30 Central time -- 8:30 Eastern. Trump's tweet came out a few minutes later. 
 
 Update: On the "Today" show on Wednesday morning, Trump denied that he'd seen the Tribune story. 
 
 Trump says he didn't see the article in which Boeing's head criticized him before he sent a tweet saying he would cancel a contract. — Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) December 7, 2016 
 
 We don't know that Trump was responding to the Tribune story. We do know that the last time he tweeted an out-of-the-blue opinion, about flag-burning, it was immediately after a Fox News segment showing students burning flags. 
 
 We also know that Trump's tweet tanked Boeing's stock price, albeit only briefly. In 2013, Trump tweeted about having just bought stock in Boeing ("great company!"), but his spokesman said on Tuesday that the president-elect no longer holds stock in Boeing, or anything else, having sold it all in June. 
 
 The fluctuations in Boeing's stock price that may have stemmed from Trump's annoyance at a news article criticizing his policies in the lightest of terms, then, only affected other people. 
 
 Update: Some good news for shareholders: Boeing's stock ended the day up slightly.
– The immense power that Donald Trump's tweets now carry was brought home Tuesday morning, when he tweeted a complaint about "out of control" costs for Boeing's new 747 Air Force One jets, saying "Cancel order!"—a move that caused Boeing's stock to fall around 1%, or nearly $2 a share, in early trading. The Washington Post reports that the Trump tweet came just minutes after the Chicago Tribune posted a story in which Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg strongly criticized anti-free trade rhetoric during the 2016 campaign, and the timing suggests Trump may have "tanked Boeing's stock because he was mad about a news article." The Post notes that the last time Trump "tweeted an out-of-the-blue opinion, about flag-burning, it was immediately after a Fox News segment showing students burning flags." Trump claimed that the cost of the Air Force One deal had soared to "more than $4 billion," though both Boeing and the White House said his numbers were off. "We are currently under contract for $170 million to determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the President of the United States," Boeing said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the US Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the President at the best value for the American taxpayer." MarketWatch reports that Boeing stock recovered after the company's comment and finished the day slightly ahead of where it had been before Trump's tweet.