Airline, aerospace industries warn Trump tariffs could risk air safety, supply chains

President Trump’s tariffs on imported commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts could trigger risks to air safety and the supply chain, groups representing airline and aerospace companies warned on Tuesday.

Trump has already hit the industry with a sweeping 10% tariff on all imports in April. The Commerce Department followed with an investigation it opened last month called Section 232, which is assessing risks to U.S. national security from imported goods and could be used to justify even higher tariffs on imported planes, engines and parts, Reuters reported.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), which represents hundreds of companies including Boeing, Airbus and GE Aerospace, urged the Commerce Department in a filing to consult with the industry on any Section 232 tariffs to ensure they "do not put the supply chain and aviation safety at risk," according to the outlet.

The AIA asked the Commerce Department for a 90-day extension to Section 232’s public comment period and to impose no new tariffs for at least 180 days, the report said, citing the filing.

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Airlines for America, an airline trade group that represents major carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, warned that increased tariffs could spike ticket prices and shipping rates, hurt the recovering aviation supply chain, increase the number of counterfeit parts in the market and have other unintended consequences.

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"Injecting higher costs into the commercial aviation sector will weaken our economic and national security and have a material and debilitating impact on the domestic commercial aviation industry’s ability to grow, compete, innovate and invest," the airlines wrote in comments filed with the Commerce Department, per Reuters.

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In April, several major U.S. airlines pulled their profit outlooks for the year and announced scaled back flight schedules for the summer over economic uncertainty and a drop in travel demand.