Topline
Boeing’s shares slid sharply in premarket trading early on Tuesday, after Bloomberg reported that the Chinese government had ordered the country’s airlines to stop taking deliveries of new aircraft from the American plane maker amid an escalating trade war between Beijing and Washington.
China has reportedly asked its domestic carriers to stop taking deliveries of Boeing jets.
Key Facts
According to Bloomberg, the move to block deliveries of new Boeing jets to the country’s air carriers is in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a tariff rate of 145% on nearly all Chinese-made goods.
Chinese airline companies have also been ordered to stop buying aircraft parts and other aviation-related equipment from the U.S. plane maker, the report added.
The decision was reportedly made after China announced a tit-for-tat response last week by raising tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, which would have likely made such aircraft and equipment purchases prohibitively expensive.
The Chinese government has not made an official announcement on the matter yet, but the report said that Beijing is considering measures to support airline operators who use Boeing’s planes.
Forbes has reached out to Boeing for comment.
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How Has Boeing Stock Been Impacted?
Boeing’s shares were hit during premarket trading early on Tuesday, after the Bloomberg report was published. The plane maker’s stock fell as much as 4.5%, before recovering slightly to $153.94—a drop of 3.35% from Monday’s closing price.
What Do We Know About The U.s.-China Tit-For-Tat Tariffs?
The escalating trade war between China and the U.S. began earlier this month after President Donald Trump unveiled so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ against hundreds of countries including a 34% levy on goods imported from China. The 34% tariff was on top of an existing 20% levy previously announced by the White House against China for its alleged role in the fentanyl crisis. China soon retaliated by raising duties on U.S. goods by 34%. This resulted in several rounds of escalating tariffs until President Trump signed an order last week hitting Chinese goods with a 125% tariff. The total U.S. tariffs on China now stand at 145%, which includes the 125% reciprocal levy and earlier 20%. China on Friday raised its tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%. Chinese officials also signaled they will not respond to any further escalations in the tariff rate by the U.S., saying, “If the US continues to play the numbers game of tariffs, China will ignore it.”
Further Reading
The White House’s 8 Big Tariff Flip-Flops Since ‘Liberation Day’ (Forbes)
China Raises US Tariffs To 125%—Xi Urges EU To Back Beijing’s Pushback Against ‘Unilateral Bullying’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/15/boeing-slumps-in-premarket-as-china-reportedly-moves-to-halt-jet-deliveries/