, Columnist
Now Isn't the Time for a Boeing-Airbus Trade Row
With the 737 Max grounded, you would think the U.S. would have other priorities than threatening Europe with punitive tariffs.
Flying high.
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Late on Monday, the Trump administration decided that now is the moment to ratchet up a longstanding trade dispute between Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. The U.S. is threatening to impose $11 billion of punitive tariffs on a range of European products from aircraft to cheese.
The dispute is unrelated to the crash of two Boeing 737 Max aircraft – but the world of commercial aviation is in turmoil, and such a move looks particularly bad right now. It risks looking like a bully lashing out under pressure.