Aerospace dispute raises spectre of trade war

The US Commerce Department’s preliminary decision to slap prohibitive countervailing duties on Canadian aerospace firm Bombardier threatens to cause a major trade spat between Canada and the US. According to that US decision, Bombardier’s exports are unfairly subsidised by as much as 220%. Coming on the heels of the softwood lumber dispute, this latest spat is undermining hopes of forging agreement on a new NAFTA deal. If the preliminary ruling is upheld by the US, it would certainly hurt Canada’s struggling domestic aerospace industry, with negative implications for the broader economy.