Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg expressed concern Sunday over the potential for a disruption of free trade presented by tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, while applauding his administration for tax cuts and regulatory reform. Speaking in London during a pre-Farnborough Air Show press briefing, Muilenburg stressed Boeing has yet to feel any effects from the trade tensions, but that the aerospace industry as a whole needs free and open trade to continue to thrive.
“While we’re concerned about some of the ongoing talk about tariffs and trade restrictions, we haven’t seen any actions as yet that have had a material effect on our business,” said Muilenburg. “That said, this is a very important topic, so we’re continuing to stay engaged with governments around the world, we’re hopeful that solutions will be found as alternatives to tariffs or other punitive measures.”
On trade tensions with China in particular, Muilenburg stressed that Boeing remains “very much engaged” with both the U.S. and Chinese governments. “We have a voice at the table,” he said. “We’re also working very closely with our Chinese airline customers.”
Boeing projects that China will need 7,200 commercial airplanes over the next 20 years, making it perhaps the most important market in the world. Meanwhile, China needs the so-called lift and aerospace capability to drive its economic growth agenda. From a U.S. perspective, Muilenburg cited concerns about a trade imbalance. However, the aerospace industry accounts for the largest trade surplus in the U.S. of any other industry—roughly $80 billion. “Boeing is a big contributor to that,” he said. “There are also a lot of U.S. manufacturing jobs associated with it. So I think it’s fairly unique to the aerospace sector that the end objectives, the end goals, are very much aligned with what China and the U.S. see as clearly a broader economic benefit associated with aerospace in both countries. I’m convinced both governments know that, the leaders in both countries understand that.”
