China has decided to impose 25 percent tariffs on 106 items originating in the United States, the Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday as a response to US tariff proposals.
Those items include commercial aircraft with an operating empty weight between 15,000 kg and 45,000 kg, which covers a series of Boeing B737 planes.
Some single-aisle aircraft produced by US aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co, including the B737-700, B737-800, B737-900 and B737 MAX 7, are among the major aircraft models Boeing exported to China in the past few years, and they have been covered within items intended for tariff imposition.
Boeing China said the company doesn’t have any comment on the issue, and the detailed explanations are subject to the Chinese government.
From 2018 to 2020, Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines plan to integrate more than 300 aircraft from the B737 series, according to earnings reports.
The implementation date will be subject to the US government’s imposition of tariffs on China’s goods, to be announced separately, the Ministry of Commerce said.
The homemade large passenger jet C919, and the A320 series made by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE — archrival of Boeing — are competing models to the narrow-body B737.
Boeing has a B737 MAX completion and delivery center in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, and it is expected to go into operation in May. By the end of this year, Boeing plans to deliver the first B737 MAX plane directly from Zhoushan to a domestic airline.
