Jeremy Corbyn: PM must tell us what she said to Trump over Bombardier

This is the letter sent by Jeremy Corbyn to Theresa May demanding she summon the chief executive of Boeing to a summit with her and Canadian leader Justin Trudeau over the US firm’s trade dispute with Bombardier.

Dear prime minister,

Two weeks ago the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland and the shadow secretary for business, energy, industry and skills wrote to you with their concerns over the Bombardier trade dispute initiated by Boeing.

Your failure even to respond to their letter reflects your administration’s continued foot-dragging and refusal to focus fully on the vital importance of this issue for the future prosperity of Northern Ireland.

Since they wrote to you, the US Dept of Commerce has made a provisional determination that will impose a 219.63 per cent tariff on the sale of C Series Aircraft into the United States. This would increase the cost of the aircraft for which Delta has contracted with Bombardier, from $5bn to $16bn.

The US International Trade Commission has still to determine whether Boeing have suffered material harm before the provisional tariff is made permanent. This determination is anticipated by next February and on any objective scrutiny it would appear impossible for Boeing to show they have suffered any such detriment given that they do not manufacture a rival aircraft that operates in this sector of the market. However, you will be aware that the “commercial chill” which US protectionism is now placing on Bombardier is itself devastating.

The jobs of 4,200 people directly employed by Bombardier in Northern Ireland are not the only ones at stake. The supply chain extends to thousands more jobs both in the wider UK and also in the Republic of Ireland. Given that Bombardier represents eight per cent of the total GDP of Northern Ireland (40 per cent of the GDP that is produced by the private sector) the impact on the people of Northern Ireland can hardly be overstated.

Next week the US Dept of Commerce will publish its separate preliminary determination on the parallel Boeing petition where they accuse Bombardier of “dumping” the aircraft at below cost price into the US market. This could potentially represent another devastating blow.

Your continued lack of response to the very proper questions put to you in my colleagues’ letter speaks loudly of the way in which your administration has failed to grasp the seriousness of this matter over many months — despite clear warnings from both civil servants and politicians in Northern Ireland. Your ministers preferred to accept the American line that the dispute could be settled by negotiation if only Bombardier were willing to do so. Yet within two days of Greg Clark’s discussions with their company president, Boeing themselves walked away from the negotiations.

Your own discussions with president Trump, now over three weeks ago, have not resulted in the resolution of this dispute. You have a responsibility to be open and set out precisely what you discussed with president Trump on this issue, what his response was, and indeed if there have been any subsequent communications. The Bombardier workers and their families have a right to know.

You must now realise that the aggressive and protectionist way the US government conducts its trade relations with other countries is not conducive to the swift and beneficial post-Brexit trade agreement that you and your ministers have so often suggested.

You must now act with strength of purpose in the national interest.

I am asking you to summon Dennis Muilenburg, who is the chairman, president and CEO of Boeing to an urgent summit with yourself and prime minister Trudeau to make it very clear that Boeing must now withdraw their claims against Bombardier.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Corbyn