UK warns Boeing over trade row with Bombardier

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. could stop placing orders with Boeing if the U.S. airplane manufacturer does not drop a trade dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier.

In a speech at a Bank of England meeting on Thursday, May said the row -- which could threaten thousands of high-tech aerospace jobs in the U.K. -- was “not the sort of behavior we expect from a long-term partner”.

May’s remarks echoed British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon’s recent warning that future defense contracts with Boeing could be jeopardized.

Fallon issued the warning after a ruling earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Commerce in favor of America’s Boeing which could see an interim tariff of 219.63 percent on sales of Bombardier’s C-Series jet to Delta Airlines, one of the main air carriers in the U.S.

May on Wednesday said she was “bitterly disappointed” about the row which could cost around a thousand jobs in Northern Ireland.

Canada’s Bombardier is one of the biggest hi-tech employers in the U.K.; its east Belfast hub employs around 4,000 people.

Free market

May also spoke about the value of a free-market economy in her speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bank of England’s financial independence.

She said the British people should never forget the value of a free-market economy.

May restated her determination to be tough on public spending despite political pressure to ease austerity.

"Continuing to deal with our debts," is the way to strengthen the economy, she said.

May’s comments came after opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told his party’s annual conference on Wednesday that capitalism was facing a "crisis of legitimacy".

May went on to say: "To abandon that balanced approach with unfunded borrowing and significantly higher levels of taxation would damage our economy, threaten jobs, and hurt working people."

However, although she emphasized that Britain's flexible labor market had brought prosperity, May acknowledged it did not necessarily work for everyone.