Trump says Boeing ‘should default China’ for not taking planes

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Updated 25 April 2025
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Trump says Boeing ‘should default China’ for not taking planes

  • Chinese customers started rejecting Beoing jet deliveries amid a trade war sparked by Trump
  • Boeing poised to resell rejected jets, with Air India in talks with the planemaker to take 10 Max 737s

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized China for backing out of a deal to buy new Boeing planes due to tariffs imposed in the rivals’ trade war.
“Boeing should default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes that China committed to purchase,” Trump wrote on social media, without giving more details.
“This is just a small example of what China has done to the USA, for years,” he added.
US aviation giant Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg said Wednesday confirmed that Chinese customers had stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the “tariff environment.”
His remarks signaled growing disruption caused by tit-for-tat levies exchanged between the world’s largest economies this month.

New US tariffs have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products, while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.
The tariff blitz — which Trump says is retaliation for unfair trade practices, as well as a bid to restore US manufacturing prowess — has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession.
Beijing on Thursday threw cold water on Trump’s apparent optimism about a US-China deal to lower tariffs, saying that suggestions of ongoing talks were “groundless.”
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that his country would have a “fair deal with China,” adding when asked if Washington was talking to Beijing that “everything’s active.”

Industry sources said the comments were seen as a signal to Beijing and Washington that the tariff conflict between the world’s two largest economies risked damage as Chinese airlines scramble for capacity and Boeing is left with a new stockpile.
Washington had previously signalled openness to de-escalating the trade war, stating earlier this week that high tariffs between the US and China were not sustainable.
Boeing is one of the largest US exporters and historically sent a quarter of its planes to China, though the share of Chinese airlines in its order backlog now stands at 10 percent after European rival Airbus increased market share.
Airbus has been in on-off negotiations for at least a year to try to grab a huge order of up to 500 jets, though China usually treads carefully over all major purchase decisions at times of geopolitical uncertainty, industry sources said.
Airbus said it never comments on commercial discussions that may or may not be happening.
Potential alternative markets for Boeing jets include India, Latin America and Southeast Asia but discussions have barely begun because of their complexity and uncertainty over who might blink in the tariff standoff, industry sources said.
Reselling

Amid the delivery standoff, Boeing said it is looking to resell potentially dozens of planes locked out of China by tariffs.
The move to prevent a repeat of the costly build-up of undelivered jets seen during past safety and trade crises comes as the planemaker seeks to prevent tensions undercutting its efforts to save cash and pay down debts.
Boeing took the rare step of publicly flagging the potential aircraft sale during an analyst call on Wednesday, saying there would be no shortage of buyers in a tight jet market.
“Customers are calling, asking for additional airplanes,” CFO Brian West said. Such negotiations are usually kept tightly under wraps.

Two sources, who declined to be named as the discussions are private, said Air India was seeking around 10 narrowbody planes from Boeing for its budget carrier Air India Express, which has a fleet of more than 100 aircraft.
Air India, Air India Express and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Air India is very interested ... if the deal goes through, the planes are expected to be added to the fleet by end of the year,” the first person said, adding the talks were in early stages.
Air India Express has previously taken white tail aircraft — or jets manufactured for one customer but acquired by another.
A third source familiar with talks between Air India and Boeing said any difference in jet configuration between its fleet and the incoming planes meant for Chinese customers may be factored into price negotiations.
The move could be a boost to Air India’s expansion plans as the group’s growth has been constrained by a lack of new aircraft.
Last month, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the airline was a “victim of circumstance,” referring to delivery delays plaguing Boeing and Airbus.

Complex negotiations
However, experts warned that carrying out the threat to divert jets to other buyers would not involve a simple switch.
Finding new customers after planes have been built “can be a costly endeavour,” industry publication Leeham News said.
Experts say many components, such as cabins, are picked by airlines and switching configurations could cost millions of dollars. Doing so may also create a tangle of contractual commitments and need the co-operation of the original buyer.
For its part, China has urged Washington to abandon the tariffs but its airlines are seen as hungry for new planes to meet demand and stay within domestic aircraft age restrictions.
“This will be extremely complicated. Everyone is flexing muscle but nobody completely has the upper hand,” said a senior aircraft finance industry source who requested anonymity.
Boeing’s public stand follows a threat from tariffs to the aerospace industry’s decade-old duty-free trading status. Senior industry officials say, however, there is no clear evidence of a reported official Chinese government ban on US jets.
The move to repatriate and re-market jets stands in contrast to a build-up seen during an almost five-year import freeze on 737 MAX jets into China and previous trade tensions.
“We’re not going to continue to build aircraft for customers who will not take them,” Ortberg told analysts.
Two jets ferried to China in March for delivery to Xiamen Airlines returned to Boeing in Seattle in the past week.
A third 737 MAX flew from Boeing’s Zhoushan completion center near Shanghai to the US territory of Guam on Thursday, Flightradar24 data showed. Guam is one of the stops Boeing delivery flights make on the journey across the Pacific.
The third plane was initially built for Air China , according to Aviation Flights Group. The flag carrier did not respond to a request for comment.
Boeing had planned to deliver around 50 new planes to China over the rest of this year, West said. It is studying options for re-marketing 41 that are already built or in production.

 


US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation

Updated 5 sec ago
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US official says Trump not signing G7 statement on Israel-Iran de-escalation

  • Canadian and European diplomats said G7 attendees are continuing discussions on the conflict at the summit in Canada, which ends on Tuesday

CALGARY, Alberta: A US official said on Monday that President Donald Trump would not sign a draft statement from Group of Seven leaders calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict.
The draft statement, seen by Reuters, also commits to safeguarding market stability, including energy markets, says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, and that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Canadian and European diplomats said G7 attendees are continuing discussions on the conflict at the summit in Canada, which ends on Tuesday.

 


Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements

Updated 17 June 2025
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Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements

  • The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position”

Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over requirements in grant applications that they don’t promote “gender ideology” or run diversity, equity and inclusion programs or prioritize people in the country illegally.
The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position.”
If they don’t apply for federal money allocated under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, they might not be able to provide rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters and other programs to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. But if the groups do apply, they said in the lawsuit, they would have to make statements they called “antithetical to their core values” — and take on legal risk.
In the lawsuit filed in US District Court in Rhode Island on Monday, the coalitions said that agreeing to the terms of grants could open them to federal investigations and enforcement actions as well as lawsuits from private parties.
The groups suing include some from Democratic-controlled states, such as the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, and in GOP-dominated ones, including the Idaho Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
The groups say the requirements are at odds with federal laws that require them not to discriminate on the basis of gender identity, to aid underserved racial and ethnic groups, and to emphasize immigrants with some programs and not to discriminate based on legal status.
The US Department of Justice, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit is one of more than 200 filed since January to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive orders. There were similar claims in a suit over anti-DEI requirements in grants for groups that serve LGBTQ+ communities. A judge last week blocked the administration from enforcing those orders in context of those programs, for now.


Nigerian state signs peace pact with criminal gangs: official

Updated 16 June 2025
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Nigerian state signs peace pact with criminal gangs: official

  • Dozen bandit kingpins met with local officials to renounce violence. With no ideological leaning, the bandits are motivated by financial gains
  • As a mark of goodwill, the bandits surrendered weapons and released 17 hostages, with the promise to free more people they were holding

KANO, Nigeria: Authorities in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state struck a peace deal at the weekend with criminal gangs to try to end years of violence, a government official said Monday.
Katsina is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria terrorized by criminal gangs that the locals refer to as bandits.
The gangs raid villages, kill and abduct residents as well as torch homes after looting them.
The gangs maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna states in the northwest region and Niger state in the country’s central zone and have carried out mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years.
On Saturday, a dozen bandit kingpins met with local officials and community leaders in the town of Danmusa, where they renounced violence and pledged to turn a new leaf, Nasiru Mu’azu, Katsina state internal commissioner said.
“There was a peace meeting between 12 bandit leaders and the local community leaders in Danmusa where the bandits renounced their criminal activities and committed to peace,” Mu’azu said.
The bandits initiated the meeting, he said. “The community welcomed the overtures and agreed to a peace deal as long as the bandits are genuinely interested in peace,” he said.
As a mark of goodwill, the bandits surrendered weapons and released 17 hostages, with the promise to free more people they were holding.
Authorities in Katsina had earlier ruled out peace deals after the criminal gangs reneged on peace negotiations and returned to crime.
With no ideological leaning, the bandits are motivated by financial gains but their increasing alliance with jihadists from the northeast has been raising concern among authorities and security analysts.
In 2023, Katsina state governor Dikko Umar Radda established Katsina Community Watch Corps, comprising around 2,000 vigilantes to assist the military and police in fighting the bandits.
“We have been fighting the bandits for the past two years and the state governor has reiterated he will not negotiate from a position of weakness,” Mu’azu said.
“But since they on their own came forward and extended the olive branch, we have to give them that opportunity.”
In November last year, neighboring Kaduna state, which has rejected negotiation with bandits, signed a peace accord with the criminal gangs terrorizing Birnin-Gwari district.


Hunger crisis deepens in global hotspots as famine risk rises, UN warns

Updated 16 June 2025
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Hunger crisis deepens in global hotspots as famine risk rises, UN warns

  • Conflict, economic shocks, and climate-related hazards blamed for harsh conditions in the worst-hit areas

ROME: Extreme hunger is intensifying in 13 global hot spots, with Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali at immediate risk of famine without urgent humanitarian intervention, a joint UN report warned on Monday.

The “Hunger Hotspots” report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme blamed conflict, economic shocks, and climate-related hazards for conditions in the worst-hit areas.

The report predicts food crises in the next five months.

It called for investment and help to ensure aid delivery, which it said was being undermined by insecurity and funding gaps.

“This report is a red alert. We know where hunger is rising and we know who is at risk,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain. 

“Without funding and access, we cannot save lives.”

For famine to be declared, at least 20 percent of the population in an area must be suffering extreme food shortages, with 30 percent of children acutely malnourished and two people out of every 10,000 dying daily from starvation or malnutrition and disease.

In Sudan, where famine was confirmed in 2024, the crisis is expected to persist due to conflict and displacement, with almost 25 million people at risk.

South Sudan, hit by flooding and political instability, could see up to 7.7 million people in crisis, with 63,000 in famine-like conditions, the report said.

In Gaza, Israel’s continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.1 million people facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, the report said.

In Haiti, escalating gang violence has displaced thousands, with 8,400 already facing catastrophic hunger, while in Mali, conflict and high grain prices put 2,600 people at risk of starvation by the end of August.

Other countries of high concern include Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, and Nigeria.

“Protecting people’s farms and animals to ensure they can keep producing food where they are, even in the toughest and harshest conditions, is not just urgent — it is essential,” said FAO Director General QU Dongyu.

Some countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Lebanon, have improved and have been removed from the FAO and WFP’s Hunger Hotspots list.

The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans because of the “deepest funding cuts ever” — leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits.

OCHA said it was seeking $29 billion in funding for 2025 compared to the $44 billion requested initially in December, in a “hyper-prioritized” appeal.

“Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,” OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

“All we ask is 1 percent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn’t just an appeal for money it’s a call for global responsibility, human solidarity, and a commitment to end the suffering.”

In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Fletcher warned: “Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about ... The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.”

With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only $5.6 billion out of the $44 billion sought initially for this year — a mere 13 percent.

In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people.

Even so, that plan acknowledged there were 115 million people the UN could not reach.

“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” Fletcher said on Monday.

The mathematics “is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking.”

“Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given,” he said.

Aid will now be directed so that it can “reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs,” with those in “extreme or catastrophic conditions” as the starting point, said Fletcher.

“This will ensure that limited resources are directed where they can do the most good — as quickly as possible,” the statement said.


Norway’s king makes symbolic visit to Svalbard, in coveted Arctic

Updated 16 June 2025
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Norway’s king makes symbolic visit to Svalbard, in coveted Arctic

  • the region around Svalbard has gained in geopolitical and economic importance as tensions mount between Russia and the West, not least with the ice sheet receding
  • Interest in the Arctic has intensified since US President Donald Trump’s threats this year to annex Greenland, which he says the US needs for reasons of national security

OSLO: Norway’s King Harald made a highly symbolic visit on Monday to the country’s Svalbard archipelago, located in an Arctic region coveted by superpowers like the United States, Russia and China.
Situated halfway between the European continent and the North Pole, the region around Svalbard has gained in geopolitical and economic importance as tensions mount between Russia and the West, not least with the ice sheet receding.
Interest in the Arctic has intensified since US President Donald Trump’s threats this year to annex Greenland, which he says the US needs for reasons of national security.
“It was especially appropriate to come this year,” the 88-year-old monarch said after stepping off the royal yacht with his wife Sonja in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s main town which is home to 2,500 people.
“We have seen increased attention being paid to the Arctic and Svalbard. This brings both challenges and opportunities,” he added.
The king was in Svalbard to take part in celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the entry into force of an international treaty that put the Svalbard archipelago under Norwegian rule.
Drawn up in Paris in 1920, the treaty gives the citizens of the nearly 50 signatories — including China and Russia — an equal right to exploit the archipelago’s natural resources.
As a result, Russia is able to maintain two settlements, including a mining community, in the small village of Barentsburg where a Lenin statue stands and Soviet flags are regularly flown — all in a NATO country.
China has meanwhile defined itself as a “near-Arctic state” and has displayed a growing interest in the region.
“When the royal yacht ‘Norge’ drops anchor with the royal standard atop the mast, this emphasizes, even more than King Harald’s words could say, that Norway is taking care of its rights and assuming its responsibilities,” said Lars Nehru Sand, a commentator at public radio NRK.
“The king is here to show that this is ours,” he said.