Title: Boeing, Bombardier, & Tariffs -- Protectionist Mischief Hurts Americans | National Review
Headings: The Radiating Mischief of Protectionism
The Radiating Mischief of Protectionism
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Content: Boeing, Bombardier, & Tariffs -- Protectionist Mischief Hurts Americans | National Review
Politics & Policy
The Radiating Mischief of Protectionism
By George Will
About George Will
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October 29, 2017 12:00 AM
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Crew members pose with a Bombardier C-series aircraft at a static demo event in New Delhi, India. ( Reuters photo: Adnan Abidi)
Boeing, Bombardier, and U.S. bureaucracy
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Washington — What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive ourselves into believing that corporate welfare can be seemly. Consider the caper, both amusing and depressing, that began when mighty Boeing sought protection behind the skirts of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Boeing, America’s 39th largest corporation by market capitalization (over $150 billion) and 24th by revenues ($94.6 billion), complains that it is being injured because the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier (market capitalization around $5 billion) was “dumping” its C Series passenger planes in the U.S. market. That is, selling them unfairly cheaply to U.S. buyers. The nature of Boeing’s injury is unclear because it does not make a plane that directly competes with the C Series. Boeing’s complaint came after Bombardier agreed to sell 75 to Delta Airlines for $5.6 billion, a contract for which Boeing did not bid. The C Series single-aisle planes, which seat 100 to 160 passengers, are smaller than Boeing’s 737. Advertisement
All manufacturers of commercial aircraft, including Boeing, sell their products for amounts substantially below list prices. (