Boeing won't appeal ruling

MONTREAL, Canada - Boeing will not appeal the U.S. trade commission ruling that allows Canada’s Bombardier to sell its CSeries jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties, a Boeing spokesman said Thursday. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted in January to reject Boeing’s complaint and discarded a Commerce Department recommendation to slap a near 300 percent duty on sales of the 110- to 130-seat Bombardier CSeries jets for five years. The ITC said it rejected placing duties on Bombardier jets partly because Boeing had lost no sales when Delta Air Lines ordered the aircraft in 2016 from the Canadian planemaker, saying the 110-seat CSeries jets ordered by Delta and Boeing’s smallest 737 MAX 7 plane do not compete. The smaller end of the jet market is an increasing focus for the major manufacturers. Airbus has agreed to take a majority stake in the CSeries in a deal expected to close later this year, while Boeing is in tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer. (Source: Reuters, 03/22/18) Bombardier plans to assemble CSeries jetliners for the U.S. market in Mobile, Ala.