The U.S. Commerce Department has hit Bombardier with more duties on its CSeries commercial jet in the Canadian company's trade fight with Boeing.
The department said Friday it will impose a 79.82 per cent preliminary anti-dumping duty against the Montreal-based company's 100- to 150-seat civilian aircraft.
The U.S. government move follows last week's decision to slap preliminary countervailing tariffs of nearly 220 per cent on Bombardier, bringing the total duties imposed by the U.S. on the CSeries to almost 300 per cent.
Boeing, the petitioner in the case, has argued that the Canadian government unfairly subsidizes Bombardier in the construction of the CSeries commercial jets. Boeing launched its appeal to the U.S. government in April, several months after Bombardier announced the sale of up to 125 CSeries jets to Delta Airlines.
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Reuters reported that Delta said it was confident regulators "will conclude that no U.S. manufacturer is at risk" from Bombardier's CSeries.
The duties being imposed by the U.S. won't be collected until Bombardier begins delivering the aircraft to Delta, which is expected in the spring.
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Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government was "extremely disappointed by and in complete disagreement" with the latest U.S. duties.
"Boeing is manipulating the U.S. trade remedy system to prevent Bombardier's new aircraft, the CSeries, from entering the U.S. market, despite Boeing's admission that it does not compete with the CSeries," Freeland said in a statement,
"We will continue to raise this issue with Boeing and with the U.S. government at the highest levels," she said.
In announcing the latest duties, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the United States is committed "to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship."
"We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while doing everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers."
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The U.S. government says a final decision on the anti-dumping duties related to Bombardier is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2017.
The Bombardier-Boeing case has spilled over into other areas of Canada's relationship with the United States. Canada has been eyeing the purchase of Boeing Super Hornet jet fighters as a possible replacement for its aging fleet of CF-18 Hornets. However, the spat over duties on the CSeries has led the Canadian government to say it wouldn't do business with a company trying to sue it.
