Belfast jobs fears grow as US hits Bombardier with 300pc import duty

America has slapped a 300% tariff on some of Bombardier's imports as part of the Canadian company's long-running competition dispute with Boeing, putting hundreds of manufacturing jobs in Belfast on the line.

The US government decided to affix high anti-subsidy tariffs on the Bombardier's CSeries jets, after Boeing Co complained that the Canadian company had received unfair subsidy from their government which, it argued, allowed Bombardier to sell their new aeroplane below cost.

“Today’s decision validates Boeing’s complaints about the Bombardier prices in the US, prices that have harmed our workforce and the American industry”, said Boeing in a press release.

Bombardier criticised the near-300% duties, saying its plan of partnering with the European company Airbus to launch the CSeries assembly from a production line in Mobile, Alabama, would make it an American company.

“Unfortunately, the decision of the Department of Commerce is divorced from this reality and ignores commercial practices of the aeroespacial industry, including the launching price and the financing of multimillion airplane programmes,” Bombardier said in a statement.

This conflict could lead to job losses in Northern Ireland where 1,000 Bombardier employees are linked to production of the CSeries.

The Unite union in the UK called the US decision “nakedly political” and added that it could potentially crush jobs "not only in Northern Ireland but also in the US”.

Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary said "More than 50 percent of C-Series components are sourced from the US, where the supply chain sustains 22,000 US jobs. The economic impact of these tariffs would be felt in communities on both sides of the Atlantic."

He also said that Boeing’s claim was meritless since they don’t have an aircraft that can compare to the CSeries.

"Boeing does not produce an aircraft in the same class as Bombardier's C Series and didn't even bid for the Delta contract it is complaining about, which leaves its complaint totally without merit.

"Boeing is using its meritless complaint as cover to close the US market, which is one of the biggest in the world, to new entrants such as Bombardier's C Series aircraft,” he said.

He also added: "We would urge the US International Trade Commission to do the right thing for fair trade and jobs by finding against Boeing and setting aside the commerce department's determination when it makes its final decision in the New Year.

Susan Fitzgerald, the Unite regional officer for Bombardier in NI said: “"This decision poses a devastating risk for the Northern Ireland economy.

"Tariffs on the scale proposed by the US Commerce Department in the world's largest airline market, threaten to undermine the long-term economics of Bombardier's presence in Northern Ireland.

"Not only is it a threat to the economy, it poses a significant threat to stability in Northern Ireland. Unite is very conscious that workplaces are the largest integrated environments in our society."