Airlines Scramble for Airbus Jets Made in America
Trump’s tariffs on European goods have carriers seeking planes made in Airbus’s Alabama factory.
An Airbus SE A321 plane fuselage is lifted with a crane at the company’s final assembly line facility in Mobile, Alabama.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
For U.S. airlines, the phrase “Made in America” comes with a whole new financial imperative thanks to the trade fight between the Trump administration and Europe.
In October, the White House levied a 10% tariff on European-built aircraft as part of a broader conflict over aviation industry subsidies. The move followed a World Trade Organization ruling that EU assistance to Europe-based Airbus had damaged Chicago-based Boeing, the latest chapter in a 15-year dispute over government support for the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers.