Business Secretary meets with US Commerce Secretary and US Ambassador to the UK.
Business Secretary Greg Clark met the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the US Ambassador to the UK, Robert Johnson this afternoon to discuss a wide range of key industry issues.
This included the recent partnership between Airbus and Bombardier which is hoped will lead to job creation in the US and security for the Bombardier plant in Belfast. It comes as Bombardier confirmed today it had had a significant new order for the C-Series.
Greg Clark raised Boeing’s complaint about subsidies for Bombardier’s C-Series aircraft programme to make it clear we want to see all parties come to a resolution as quickly as possible.
The Business Secretary also committed to continuing to work closely with the US to tackle overcapacity in the steel industry. The Prime Minister Theresa May called for a ministerial level meeting at the last gathering of G20 leaders in July to tackle the issue. This will take place later this month in Germany.
Greg Clark spoke of the continued importance of the close cultural and economic ties between the US and UK which has an important role to play in our modern Industrial Strategy and the ambitious long-term vision for the UK that will build on our strengths as a global trading nation.
Business Secretary Greg Clark said:
It was a constructive meeting. As well as continuing to make the case for Boeing to drop its complaint against Bombardier, today’s new order for the C-Series planes highlights the opportunities to expand and safeguard jobs at the Shorts factory in Belfast. The US also agreed with us on the importance of combatting together the global overcapacity in the steel industry.
The US Commerce Secretary and I also discussed the UK’s Industrial Strategy and the opportunities we should be exploiting as we build on our strengths and extend excellence into the future.
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