China has already sent back two planes it ordered from the US and more will follow, in its latest response to Trump’s tariffs amid rising trade tensions between the two countries, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on Wednesday, the 23rd of April, reports the BBC.
The US imposed 145% tariffs on imports from China and China responded with a 125% duty on US products.
On Tuesday, Trump expressed optimism about improving trade relations with China and said that the tariffs he imposed “will come down substantially, but they will not be zero”.
However, Ortberg said that China “has effectively stopped taking the delivery of airplanes because of the tariffs”. He told CNBC that 50 more planes were due to be shipped to China this year, but their customers have said they will not accept them.
BOEING IS AMERICA’S LARGEST EXPORTER, ACCOUNTING FOR AROUND 70% OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT SALES OUTSIDE THE US.
Ortberg said Boeing was evaluating the possibility of selling 41 of the planes already built to other customers because of strong demand from other airlines.
He added that Boeing “will not continue to build planes for customers who will not take them”.
Ortberg said during the investor call that they talk to US leaders, including President Trump, every day about the China-US trade war and hope for successful negotiations.
Treasury Secretary Scot Bessent told an International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference that the upcoming meeting between the two countries has the potential to produce a major trade deal if China is “serious” about changing its economy to be less dependent on exports.
Ortberg also told investors that other Boeing suppliers are now subject to 10% tariffs, mainly in Japan and Italy.
Boeing’s CFO Brian West stressed that “free trade policies are very important to us” and said they would continue to work with suppliers.
China on Thursday called for all “unilateral” US tariffs to be lifted, amid signs that the Trump administration might be easing its trade war with Beijing, according to Reuters.
China also clarified that it had not held trade talks with Washington, despite repeated comments from the US government suggesting that negotiations had taken place.
Boeing has reported a smaller loss in the first quarter of this year, when it produced and delivered more aircraft.
Production in 2024 was down due to several crises and a strike by around 30 000 workers at the US plant.
The company wants to increase its 737 MAX production to 38 planes per month in 2025.