Boeing jet returns to U.S. from China, a victim of Trump’s tariff war

Pilots taxi a WestJet Boeing 737-700 aircraft to the runway for departure from Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, May 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

SEATTLE — A Boeing jet intended for use by a Chinese airline landed back at the planemaker’s U.S. production hub on Sunday, a victim of the tit-for-tat bilateral tariffs launched by U.S. President Donald Trump in his global trade offensive.

The 737 MAX, which was meant for China’s Xiamen Airlines, landed at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 6:11 p.m. (0111 GMT), according to a Reuters witness. It was painted with Xiamen livery.

The jet, which made refueling stops in Guam and Hawaii on its 5,000-mile (8,000-kilometres) return journey, was one of several 737 MAX jets waiting at Boeing’s Zhoushan completion center for final work and delivery to a Chinese carrier.

Trump this month raised baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 per cent. In retaliation, China has imposed a 125 per cent tariff on U.S. goods. A Chinese airline taking delivery of a Boeing jet could be crippled by the tariffs, given that a new 737 MAX has a market value of around US$55 million, according to IBA, an aviation consultancy.

It is not clear which party made the decision for the aircraft to return to the U.S. Boeing did not immediately respond to request for comment. Xiamen did not respond to request for comment.

The return of the 737 MAX, Boeing’s best-selling model, is the latest sign of disruption to new aircraft deliveries from a breakdown in the aerospace industry’s decades-old duty-free status.

The tariff war and apparent U-turn over deliveries comes as Boeing has been recovering from an almost five-year import freeze on 737 MAX jets and a previous round of trade tensions.

Confusion over changing tariffs could leave many aircraft deliveries in limbo, with some airline CEOs saying they would defer delivery of planes rather than pay duties, analysts say.

Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Joe Brock and William Mallard.