NAAA Urges Department of Commerce to Leave Aircraft Engines and Related Parts Free of Tariffs

NAAA submitted comments this week to the U.S. Department of Commerce supporting a tariff-free environment on the aerospace sector. The comments were related to Commerce’s investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of commercial aircraft and jet engines, and parts for commercial aircraft and jet engines. The investigation has been initiated under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (Section 232).

NAAA’s comments, which can be read by clicking here, respectfully urged Commerce to refrain from imposing new tariffs, to uphold tariff-free commitments in the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft and fortify them in bilateral agreements, and to work with the aerospace industry to find ways to further expand America’s leading manufacturing export position through workforce investment, certification and regulatory improvements, and other measures. NAAA justified its comments by stating that two of the largest agricultural aviation aircraft manufacturers in the world are Air Tractor in Olney, Texas, and Thrush in Albany, Georgia.  Air Tractor sells more single-engine turboprop aircraft globally than any other general aviation aircraft manufacturer and over 81% of the U.S. agricultural aircraft fleet are propelled by turbine engines, the large majority of those engines and accompanying parts are manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada, headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec. NAAA’s comments also stated that the aerial application industry treats nearly 127 million acres of U.S. cropland each season—about 28% of all cropland used for crop production—resulting in a value of roughly $37 billion in additional crop yield for corn, wheat, cotton, soybean, and rice farmers in the U.S. At a time when farmers are already burdened with high production costs and low commodity prices, adding unnecessary tariff duties on ag aircraft engines would add to food producers’ load.

The Department of Commerce notice and related documents and comments may be found by clicking here.