British premier Theresa May on Wednesday said she was “bitterly disappointed” about a dispute between Canadian and U.S. aircraft manufacturers which could cost around a thousand jobs in Northern Ireland.
A Tuesday ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce in favor of America’s Boeing 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.
Canada’s Bombardier is one of the biggest hi-tech employers in the U.K.; its east Belfast hub employs around 4,000 people.
Boeing took its Canadian rival to court in the U.S., after alleging it had received unfair, anti-competitive state support from Canada’s Quebec provincial government.
Both parties will have to wait for a final decision due in February. If the tariff is imposed, the cost of one Bombardier airplane for Delta will triple, jumping to $61 million from $19 million.
Bombardier and Northern Ireland’s largest labor union Unite expressed their disappointment over the decision.
Prime Minister May also expressed concerns saying she was quot;bitterly disappointedquot; with the development, adding the U.K. would work with Bombardier to protect quot;vitalquot; jobs.
Northern Ireland is set to leave the EU in March 2019, despite having voted in last year's referendum to remain.
The ongoing uncertainty over a future trade deal between the U.K. and the EU is prompting worries for the country's economy.
