(Reuters)-A Boeing jet for China was returning to the United States on Friday (18), according to flight tracking data, as the main delivery factory of the planes in the surroundings of Shanghai was.
The return of one of several jets awaiting the final work and delivery to a Chinese airline at the Zhoushan finishing center is the latest sign of interruption of deliveries due to breaking the industry tax status in the industry that had lasted decades.
In a sign that Boeing was preparing for normal business just a few weeks before US President Donald Trump announced the tariffs on April 2, three new 737 Max aircraft flew from Boeing in Seattle to Zhoushan in March.
Another arrived last week to Zhoushan, where Boeing installs interiors and makes paintings before delivering them to customers, according to FlightRadar24 data.
But on Friday, one of the first jets took off again without being delivered and flew from Zhoushan to the American Guam territory-one of the stops these flights make by crossing the Pacific-indicating that he was returning to Seattle.
Boeing declined to comment.
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The 8,000 -kilometer trip to Boeing’s main factory occurs at a time when airplane manufacturer’s businesses in China.
Bloomberg News reported earlier this week that Boeing faced a Chinese import ban, part of the growing confrontation of President Trump’s “reciprocal” global tariffs.
There was no official comment from Beijing or Chinese state media.
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Graduated sources in the aerospace and aviation sector told Reuters that they were unaware of formal instructions against the purchase of Boeing aircraft.
Even so, sector sources and analysts have widely agreed that the imposition of tariffs on US products by Beijing in response to Trump’s actions would effectively block aircraft imports without any formal prohibition.
A graduated source of the sector said Boeing and Suppliers are planning based on the fact that they would not deliver airplanes to China for now.
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Photos published on aircraft observation sites in February showed that the repatriated plane was decorated with a China Southern -owned Xiamen Airlines painting.
One source said the plane was expected to be delivered to Xiamen, who did not respond to a request for comment.
The publication of Aviation The Aviation Current, which first reported the decision to remove some not delivered jets from Zhoushan, said an unidentified Chinese airline had moved separately from a lease commitment from a Boeing aircraft.
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Sources in the sector said the return flight occurred despite some discussions about leaving the jets not delivered in a customs deposit, which means they would not be imported or officially targeted.
The Chinese Customs did not respond to a request for comment.
The tariff war and the apparent turnaround in deliveries occur as Boeing is recovering from a freezing of almost five years on 737 MAX jet imports and an earlier round of commercial tensions.
