‘Tit-for-tat’ trade war?

Aerospace workers and industry on both sides of the Atlantic risk paying the price for a ‘reckless’ and ‘destructive’ trade war,  Unite warned today (October 3).

This was after the United States announced ÂŁ6.1 billion of tariffs on exports from the EU in retaliation for subsidies given to Airbus after a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling.

Calling on the UK government to play an active role in deescalating trade tensions, Unite warned that the global nature of the aviation industry meant that a tit-for-tat trade war would harm UK jobs and country’s world leading aerospace sector.

Commenting Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing Steve Turner said, “A reckless and destructive tit-for-tat trade war benefits no one and will harm jobs and manufacturing communities on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Aerospace is a global industry. Forty per cent of Airbus components are supplied by US companies, while the planemaker and other companies, which support hundreds of thousands of UK jobs, supply into the US,” he added.

“With uncertainty over Brexit heightening, the last thing UK workers and manufacturers need is a trade war. The UK government must play an active role in trying to deescalate trade tensions and facilitating a negotiated solution to this complex dispute.”