America’s biggest exporter was already on the ropes. Then came tariffs

Boeing’s problems the last six years have been legion. Tariffs could be yet another gut punch for the beleaguered company – and, given Boeing’s importance as the top US exporter, for the economy as a whole.

Boeing’s problems the last six years have been legion. Tariffs could be yet another gut punch for the beleaguered company – and, given Boeing’s importance as the top US exporter, for the economy as a whole. Boeing’s jets could get millions of dollars more expensive if other countries impose their own tariffs on US goods. And the US tariffs already in place could send the cost of building planes here soaring due the Boeing’s dependence on overseas suppliers. That would come on top of safety and quality control failures that have led to fatal crashes and grounding of its jets, a strike that shut much of its production for two months late last year and plunging demand for planes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The tariff battle is the last thing that Boeing needs right now, said Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst with Bank of America, and the American aerospace industry is the last sector the Trump administration might want to punish. “If you’re thinking about a manufacturing industry that is a net exporter, in a big way, why would you want to penalize it?” he said. Alarm bells are already ringing over a possible US recession. Tariffs on aircraft and airplane components could hurt production at all manner of aerospace factories as well as their suppliers. That could help push the economy over the edge.