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The deepening trade war between the United States and China is being fought at Boeing’s doorstep as the company absorbs the impact of a refusal to take delivery of heavily tariffed commercial passenger planes destined for Chinese airlines.
Reporting from Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal suggested the imposition of new Chinese government restrictions including a blanket delivery halt and new approval requirements for Chinese airlines seeking to import Boeing jetliners, which as of publishing face a 125% tariff on arrival. The Air Current has not independently confirmed the specifics around either report.
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However, there are other clear signs of growing commercial and operational disruption now facing Boeing and its upcoming China deliveries, according to new reporting from TAC. Starting as early as this week, the first of three 737 Max 8 jets that were being readied for delivery to two Chinese airlines at the company’s Zhoushan delivery center are slated to be recalled to the U.S., according to two people familiar with Boeing’s plans.
Even more seriously for Boeing’s near-term pipeline of shipments and underscoring the supremacy of geopolitics over commercial agreements, another Chinese airline that had planned to take delivery through a Chinese lessor is walking away from its commitment, forcing the lessor to remarket the already-built 737 Max 8 to other airlines, with more expected to follow according to two people familiar with the development.
Lin Jian, the chief spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said April 16 in a press conference that he was “not familiar with” any formal edict by China telling its airlines to refuse delivery from Boeing. It appears tariffs have been sufficient to throw the acceptance of incoming aircraft into limbo — as they have for other airlines like Delta Air Lines and Ryanair.
Boeing declined to comment.
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