Skip to main content

Greg Clark, Britain's Secretary of State for Business, arrives in Downing Street for a cabinet meeting in London, October 17, 2017.HANNAH MCKAY/Reuters

U.K. Business Secretary Greg Clark is flying to Montreal to discuss the benefits for Northern Ireland of Airbus SE's deal with Bombardier Inc. to take control of the Canadian manufacturer's C Series aircraft.

Clark will meet with Canadian government officials and executives from the two manufacturers on Friday, according to a U.K. government official with knowledge of the plans, which haven't been publicized.

Whereas recent transatlantic visits by the Cabinet minister sought to defuse a trade spat between aerospace giant Boeing Co. and Bombardier, this one has a more positive backdrop.

That's because while the Boeing case led to the U.S. slapping preliminary tariffs of 300 percent on Bombardier, threatening more than 4,000 jobs at its plant in Belfast where the C Series wings are made, the Airbus deal is a boost to the manufacturer.

The airbus deal takes the edge off a trade dispute that had put Prime Minister Theresa May in a difficult position.

She was trapped between the need to keep good relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom she wants to strike a trade deal after Brexit, and the requirement to protect jobs in Northern Ireland, where 10 Democratic Unionist Party lawmakers who prop up her minority government are from.

Under the deal, Airbus would take a 50.01 percent stake in the C Series and add an assembly line for the plane in Mobile, Alabama, thus becoming a U.S.-made product and potentially swerving the hefty duties. With Airbus backing Bombardier, sales potential for the C Series is greater, boosting the Belfast plant, according to the official.

Airbus is buying a majority stake in Bombardier's C Series program and assembling the plane in the U.S. to avoid import duties. Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare says the partnership will mean an increased production of planes.

The Canadian Press

Report an editorial error

Report a technical issue

Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 7:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
BA-N
Boeing Company
+0.54%192.99

Interact with The Globe