BENGALURU: Boeing Co. said on Monday it won an order for 14 freight aircraft for a value of $4.7 billion, firing the opening salvo against rival Airbus in a contest for business on day one of the Farnborough Airshow.
Logistics group DHL placed the order for the 777 freighters and acquired purchase rights for seven more freighters, the US planemaker said.
Boeing and Airbus are expected to make several announcements on the first day of the July 16-22 event, as they seek to bolster their already bulging order books.
The latest order follows Boeing’s deal with FedEx Corp. unit FedEx Express in June for 24 medium and large freighters.
While global trade tensions are escalating, the industry is counting on e-commerce continuing to soar, with more people buying products online for quick delivery.
Air freight demand is expected to increase 4 percent this year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Last year was the best for cargo since 2010, with traffic growth more than doubling to 9 percent, three times the growth in capacity.
Boeing’s latest order will double the size of DHL’s global 777 fleet, the companies said. The delivery of the first four planes is expected to be completed in 2019, DHL said in a separate statement.
The Farnborough Airshow is the industry’s biggest event this year. It alternates with the Paris Airshow and, collectively, they account for over a quarter of industry order intake each year.
Boeing kickstarts Farnborough Airshow with order for jets worth $4.7bn
Boeing kickstarts Farnborough Airshow with order for jets worth $4.7bn
India and US release a framework for an interim trade agreement to reduce Trump tariffs
- Under the deal, tariffs on goods from India would be lowered to 18 percent, from 25 percent, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, Trump had said.
NEW DELHI: India and the United States released a framework for an interim trade agreement to lower tariffs on Indian goods, which Indian opposition accused of favoring Washington.
The joint statement, released Friday, came after US President Donald Trump announced his plan last week to reduce import tariffs on the South Asian country, six months after imposing steep taxes to press New Delhi to cut its reliance on cheap Russian crude.
Under the deal, tariffs on goods from India would be lowered to 18 percent, from 25 percent, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, Trump had said.
The two countries called the agreement “reciprocal and mutually beneficial” and expressed commitment to work toward a broader trade deal that “will include additional market access commitments and support more resilient supply chains.” The framework said that more negotiations will be needed to formalize the agreement.
India would also “eliminate or reduce tariffs” on all US industrial goods and a wide range of food and agricultural products, Friday’s statement said.
The US president had said that India would start to reduce its import taxes on US goods to zero and buy $500 billion worth of American products over five years, part of the Trump administration’s bid to seek greater market access and zero tariffs on almost all American exports.
Trump also signed an executive order on Friday to revoke a separate 25 percent tariff on Indian goods he imposed last year.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Trump “for his personal commitment to robust ties.”
“This framework reflects the growing depth, trust and dynamism of our partnership,” Modi said on social media, adding it will “further deepen investment and technology partnerships between us.”
India’s opposition political parties have largely criticized the deal, saying it heavily favors the US and negatively impacts sensitive sectors such as agriculture. In the past, New Delhi had opposed tariffs on sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ the bulk of the country’s population.
Meanwhile, Piyush Goyal, Indian Trade Minister, said the deal protects “sensitive agricultural and dairy products” including maize, wheat, rice, ethanol, tobacco, and some vegetables.
“This (agreement) will open a $30 trillion market for Indian exporters,” Goyal said in a social media post, referring to the US annual GDP. He said the increase in exports was likely to create hundreds of thousands of new job opportunities.
Goyal also said tariffs will go down to zero on a wide range of Indian goods exported to the US, including generic pharmaceuticals, gems and diamonds, and aircraft parts, further enhancing the country’s export competitiveness.
India and the European Union recently reached a free trade agreement that could affect as many as 2 billion people after nearly two decades of negotiations. That deal would enable free trade on almost all goods between the EU’s 27 members and India, covering everything from textiles to medicines, and bringing down high import taxes for European wine and cars.
India also signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Oman in December and concluded talks for a free trade deal with New Zealand.
