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Boeing wants dumping probe against Canada's Bombardier

A Bombardier C Series aircraft is displayed at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Boeing has filed a petition with the US Commerce Department complaining that Canada's Bombardier is selling its CSeries passenger jet in the United States for less that it costs to make them.

The US aerospace giant asked the Department's International Trade Commission on Thursday to look into Bombardier's "illegal and unfair business practices" and impose anti-dumping duties on the sale of those airplanes.

The petition comes after Donald Trump's administration on Monday slapped tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports, and after the US president walked back his threat to exit the North American Free Trade Agreement, but said that the trade deal with Canada and Mexico had to be renegotiated.

Boeing believes that Canadian government subsidies allow Bombardier to sell its CSeries jets at an unfairly low price, undercutting sales of Boeing's own 737 passenger jets.

According to Boeing, Bombardier "has embarked on an aggressive campaign to sell C Series aircraft into the US market at absurdly low prices - less than $20 million for airplanes that cost $33 million to produce, based on publicly available information."

The aircraft is sold in the United States "at prices that are millions lower than those charged in Canada - the very definition of dumping".

One year ago Bombardier won a US$5.6 billion order for 75 CSeries planes for Delta Air Lines.

According to Boeing, Bombardier's C Series planes have "received extensive government support totaling more than $3 billion."

Bombardier said in a statement signed by CEO Alain Bellemare that it is "aware of the case ... and we are closely reviewing the filing".

The statement added that Bombardier "structures its commercial dealings to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which we operate, including those issues raised by Boeing."

The Canadian company said that it has some 7,000 US employees in both rail and aerospace located in 17 states, and spends about $3 billion annually with American suppliers.

The Canadian government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it "objects" to Boeing's allegations, and promised to "mount a vigorous defense against these allegations and stand up for aerospace jobs on both sides of the border."

The statement noted that the US and Canadian aerospace industries "are highly integrated ... For example, many C Series suppliers are based in the United States and it is projected that more than 50 percent of the components for the C Series, including the engine, will be supplied by American firms".

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