Boeing cautiously announces $16 billion Iran deal amid Trump's tariff threats
Boeing, one of the largest manufacturers of aircrafts, rockets, and satellites in the United States, just recently announced their $16.6 billion deal with Iran. The deal itself has been met with much controversy seeing as that Iran has been economically blacklisted by the U.S. for quite some time. However, the company has now come out with a well worded press release that emphasizes the importance of the jobs the order would create for Americans if the deal pushes through.
The multinational corporation recently received some flak from president-elect Donald Trump for its allegedly bloated budget for creating the next set of Air Force One airplanes. Trump's latest tweets is likely the reason why the company has been very careful with how it had announced its deal with Iran. Like Boeing, several manufacturers and exporters in the country are also now cautious of their actions given Trump's recent threats of a larger tariffs on imports from other countries and for companies who have plans to move jobs out of the country.
Boeing explained in their statement that the deal with Iran, which had agreed on a nuclear accord during the Obama administration, would translate to tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. that would in turn boost the economy as a whole. Several analyst have also claimed that Trump's move to impose increased tariff rates on imports would essentially have a negative effect on major manufacturing companies. Other countries may also retaliate with their own tariffs, which would result in an unwanted trade war.
"You slap a 45 percent tariff on Chinese imports, and the Chinese suddenly acquire a fondness for Airbus jets instead of Boeing's," Aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia explained in a report.
The $16 billion aircraft order consists of 80 jetliners to be delivered to Iran Air. The deal itself has yet to go through as it still needs to get approval and a license from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.