Airbus chief warns there will be ‘only losers’ from prolonged trade war

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There will be “only losers” in aerospace from a prolonged trade war, especially in the US, the head of Airbus has warned, as he called for a return of tariff-free trading for the industry. 

Guillaume Faury, chief executive of the European plane maker, said the industry in the US was trying to “make the case” for bringing back a 1979 agreement that until the recent trade disruption allowed for tariff-free trading of aircraft and parts. 

“We believe that makes a lot of sense,” Faury said, adding that it appeared “that there will be only losers in the aerospace industry, in particular in the US”. 

His comments came as Airbus reported better than expected earnings and revenues for the first quarter.

The company, the world’s biggest plane maker, also confirmed its financial targets and reiterated plans to deliver 820 commercial aircraft this year, but said its guidance excluded any impact from the tariffs because it was too early to quantify.

Deliveries this year would also be backloaded, “reflecting the specific supply chain challenges we are facing”, Airbus said. 

Donald Trump’s trade war has created uncertainty in a sector that has largely operated without trade barriers apart from an 18-month period when levies were imposed as part of a dispute over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus.

After unveiling a series of tariffs on goods imported from its trading partners in early April, Trump paused on some of the toughest measures announced for 90 days. However, imports to the US are still subject to a 10 per cent tariff and the president has ignited a trade war with Beijing by raising levies on most Chinese goods to as much as 145 per cent.

Faury said Airbus was in talks with US airline customers about how to mitigate the impact of the 10 per cent duties but stressed that it would not pay tariffs “when it comes to planes that are going to US customers from outside the US”. 

“It is their duty to do this. They are not very happy to see this situation,” he added. 

Several airline executives, including Ed Bastian of Delta Air Lines, have in recent weeks warned they would defer deliveries from Airbus or Boeing rather than pay tariffs. Delta is scheduled to receive 10 wide-body jets from Airbus’s European factories this year, according to aviation consultancy Cirium.

Aengus Kelly, chief executive of AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft leasing company, echoed Faury’s comments in an earlier interview with the Financial Times. Kelly warned that “if this tariff situation is to continue and the Europeans will be forced to put tariffs on Boeing aircraft . . . it will be far more challenging for Boeing to sell into Europe and China”.

Airbus, which finalised an agreement on Monday to take over some facilities of Spirit AeroSystems, said the supplier’s difficulties were continuing to put pressure on the ramp-up of its A220 and A350 jets.

The company, however, said it was still planning to produce 12 A350s a month in 2028 and targeting a monthly A220 production rate of 14 aircraft in 2026. Its best-selling A320 family continues to progress towards a rate of 75 aircraft per month in 2027. 

In the first quarter, Airbus reported an 8 per cent rise in adjusted earnings before interest and tax to €624mn from a year before while revenues were up 6 per cent to €13.54bn.