ONLINE
\nWASHINGTON
\nPresident Donald Trump objected to U.S. proposals that would prevent companies from supplying jet engines and other components to China\u2019s aviation industry and suggested he had instructed his administration not to implement them.
\nIn a series of tweets and in comments to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said national security concerns, which had been cited as reasoning for the plans, should not be used as an excuse to make it difficult for foreign countries to buy U.S. products.
\nThe president\u2019s comments came after weekend reports by Reuters and other news media that the government was considering whether to stop General Electric Co (GE.N) from further supplying engines for a new Chinese passenger jet.
\nThe president\u2019s intervention illustrated that, at least in this case, he would prioritize economic benefits over potential competitive pitfalls and national security concerns.
\nHis views on the issue contrasted with the sharp restrictions his administration has placed on U.S. companies trading with Huawei Technologies, the world\u2019s largest telecommunications equipment maker, also for national security reasons.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be sacrificing our companies … by using a fake term of national security. It\u2019s got to be real national security. And I think people were getting carried away with it,\u201d Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before departing for a trip to California.
\n\u201cI want our companies to be allowed to do business. I mean, things are put on my desk that have nothing to do with national security, including with chipmakers and various others. So we\u2019re going to give it up, and what will happen? They\u2019ll make those chips in a different country or they\u2019ll make them in China or someplace else,\u201d he said. The United States has supported American companies\u2019 business with China\u2019s aviation sector for years.
\n\u201cI want China to buy our jet engines, the best in the World,\u201d Trump wrote on Twitter. \u201cI want to make it EASY to do business with the United States, not difficult. Everyone in my Administration is being so instructed, with no excuses…\u201d
\nTrade lawyer Doug Jacobson said limitations on jet engines and chip makers would hurt U.S. companies.
\n\u201cThis is ultimately akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face because ultimately you\u2019re hurting U.S. manufacturing companies but you\u2019re not having a material impact on your target,\u201d he said.
\nThe United States and China, the world\u2019s two largest economies, have a complicated and competitive relationship. Trump signed a first-phase trade deal with China earlier this year after a long trade war in which the countries levied significant tariffs on each others\u2019 products, many of which remain in place.
\nWashington is also eyeing limits on other components for Chinese commercial aircraft such as flight control systems made by Honeywell International Inc (HON.N).
\nCentral to the possible crackdown is whether shipments of U.S. parts to China\u2019s aircraft industry could fuel the rise of a serious competitor to U.S.-based Boeing Co (BA.N) or boost China\u2019s military capabilities.
\nThe Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said it welcomed Trump\u2019s comments.
\n\u201cWe applaud President Trump\u2019s tweets supporting U.S. companies being able to sell products to China and opposing proposed regulations that would unduly curtail that ability,\u201d John Neuffer, the group\u2019s president, said in a statement. \u201cAs we have discussed with the administration, sales of non-sensitive, commercial products to China drive semiconductor research and innovation, which is critical to America\u2019s economic strength and national security.\u201d
\nHuawei is at the heart of a battle for global technological dominance between the United States and China. Washington placed Huawei on a blacklist in May last year, citing national security concerns. The United States has also been trying to persuade allies to exclude its gear from next generation 5G networks on grounds its equipment could be used by China for spying. Huawei has repeatedly denied the claim.
\n\u201cSo, national security is very important. I\u2019ve been very tough on Huawei, but that doesn\u2019t mean we have to be tough on everybody that does something,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ONLINE WASHINGTON President Donald Trump objected to U.S. proposals that would prevent companies from supplying jet engines and other components to China\u2019s aviation industry and suggested he had instructed his administration not to implement them. In a series of tweets and in comments to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said national security concerns, which had been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n