The CEO of Airbus says Europe should start imposing tariffs on imported Boeing aircraft if the United States persists with its 10% tariff on new Airbus aircraft. Guillaume Faury made the comments during a May 6 media conference organised by French aerospace industry association GIFAS.
Faury said negotiations are underway with the US regarding the baseline 10% tariff imposed on imports. He said he wanted a positive outcome. However, if this is not the case, "I imagine that reciprocal tariffs on aircraft will be imposed to force a higher level of negotiation."
US President Donald Trump has suspended a proposed 20% tariff on imports from the European Union while negotiations are underway. While Airbus has manufacturing facilities within the United States for its A220 and some A320 family types, European factories build the widebodies.
According to ch-aviation fleets data, US carriers have 79 widebodies on order at Airbus, including six A330-900Ns, twenty A350-1000s, and eight A350-900s for Delta Air Lines, and forty-five A350-900s for United Airlines. Since the start of the trade disputes, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said his airline would not pay tariffs on aircraft and would forego deliveries if necessary.
Faury added that Airbus's smaller aircraft built within the United States would not be immune from the US tariff regime, given so many components are imported. "Our imports to the US from other countries are also penalised," he said.
The European Union has not yet imposed retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including Boeing aircraft. However, it has reportedly put together a EUR110 billion euro (USD125 billion) tariff package targeting the United States if the Trump administration does not yield.
