There are 4 commissioners on the
USITC, a non-political panel, unlike the US Department of Commerce. They know trade agreements and all 4 commissioners voted against Boeing. This is the first victory in a long long while for any Canadian company. It's also why the prospect of a negative outcome for Bombardier was shared by so many. One interesting fact to come out of this is that in the event of a tie, the ruling goes in favour of the complainant (in this case Boeing).
Here in Montreal, the NAFTA negotiators are trying to hammer out a 'revised' NAFTA agreement. Things aren't going so smoothly for the Americans as Mexico and Canada have turned their attention and focus toward the TPP and other trade agreements. The Donald may want to, or eventually could decide to tear up NAFTA, if he does, it looks like Canada and Mexico are moving on because a three way agreement isn't going to suddenly become a one way agreement. Let's remember, there are things in NAFTA that Canada isn't going to give up simply because Donald J thinks America got a bad deal. There are a few things in NAFTA that suck for Canada.
Embraer and the Brazilian government have taken Bombardier once again to the WTO to settle yet another Embraer complaint. Bombardier, whether or not it's understood by some, play within the WTO rules. How many times before Embraer gets it?
Too many throw around the word 'subsidies' like they understand its' meaning and application. There are profound differences between capital investment, subsidies, and loans. Some would be wise to look up those differences and figure out how to apply which to A,B, Emb, or Bbd, rather than use the word 'subsidy' in every instance like they know what they're talking about. I'm sure the WTO know the differences.
The Airbus deal with Bombardier is grossly misunderstood by a few posters in this thread. Airbus gets the C series program now for zero Euros, Dollars, or Canadian Dollarettes. They have a year to integrate and come to full agreement with all parties to hammer out their purchase agreement. In five years, Airbus, having effectively test driven the product under their Airbus banner commit to the C Series or they don't. If they're happy and choose to buy the C Series program, then they take out their wallet and pay fair market value for it. To say they bought it for nothing is as idiotic as it sounds and I'll leave it at that.
In the end, Boeing would be well advised to forget about any appeal on this decision and move on to mending fences. I'd say they've a few unhappy customers to pacify. Meanwhile, the Delta aeroplanes can be now delivered as scheduled.
Willie Everlearn
