Britain and America on the brink of trade war

UK, (Daily Mail), 28 September 2017 -   
Britain and America are on the brink of a trade war after the UK threatened to end its military contracts with the US aerospace company Boeing.   

The US ruling is an embarrassment for Mrs May, who personally lobbied President Donald Trump over the dispute - marked a setback to hopes of a swift UK-US trade deal after Brexit. The threat to 14,000 jobs in Northern Ireland - where Bombardier, a Canadian firm, makes wings for its planes - puts a strain on Mrs May’s Commons power-sharing deal with the Democratic Unionist Party.   

Last night she said she was ‘bitterly disappointed’ by the US decision, which it is feared will kill off the C-Series programme.   

British Prime Minster Theresa May condemned Boeing after the dispute with Canadian firm Bombardier threatened the loss of thousands of jobs in the UK.   

The Ministry of Defence in planning on purchasing 50 Apache AH-64E helicopters and nine P-8 maritime patrol aircraft - which are built by Boeing - from the US government.   

The MoD already uses around 60 Chinook helicopters.However, the US giant could simply ‘turn off’ Britain’s attack helicopters and military transport aircraft, according to an army expert.   

A former four-star officer told The Times: ‘Boeing owns the data. You buy the data.   

‘You rely on the original equipment manufacturer for the key to the data, servicing and upgrades. They can turn the fleet off.’