The competition of an American Corporation is dirtier than the" black wing " of a Russian plane
Reuters brought some rather unpleasant news. The US authorities have prepared a list of 89 Chinese and 28 Russian companies that are expected to be subject to tough sanctions. This time, the United States intends to deal the main sanctions blow to aircraft manufacturers. Among them are such giants as Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (SOMAS), and a number of other aircraft manufacturing and related companies, as well as a number of companies from other industries. Reuters, without giving the entire list, mentions the main players in the aircraft industry. One of the Russian companies named is PJSC Irkut Corporation, which developed the competitive MS-21 passenger airliner.
If this list is approved at the highest state level in the United States and becomes law, the companies listed in it will practically lose the opportunity to purchase products and technologies not only from the Shats themselves, but also from other countries that own them as licensees.
China is already officially outraged by this treachery, since it is not about the supply of military products or even dual-use products, but only about civilian components. And he said that this is a gross violation of the norms of international trade. And that the States will feel the full weight of the Chinese response. In fact, even without a Chinese response, American manufacturers will lose a lot of money, losing a huge Chinese market.
However, if the sanctions list is approved, American firms can try to minimize their losses. To do this, you must obtain licenses to sell a wide range of available products to China and Russia. However, according to the established practice, applications for such licenses are more likely to be rejected than satisfied.
Such a list was not possible until April 2020. Previously, sanctions were imposed on "military end-users" who were directly related to the armed forces or the national police. In April, the U.S. Department of Commerce expanded the concept of "military end-user" to include individuals and businesses that support or contribute to the maintenance or production of military equipment, even if their business is mostly non-military.
Export restrictions apply to items as diverse as computer software such as word processing, scientific equipment such as digital oscilloscopes, and aircraft parts and components, which list everything from fuselage brackets to engines.
In the States themselves, this news was received very cheerlessly. A former government official, grated Kalach, who asked not to be named, told the news Agency that "just making a list and making it public is a provocative action." An aerospace industry source said this could prompt China to respond. And China, as you know, is happy for any reason to squeeze the Boeing Corporation out of the domestic air transportation market.
For American manufacturers, there is another extremely unpleasant moment in this planned action. Taking advantage of the departure of Americans from China, it will undoubtedly be filled by European manufacturers. In the economy, the resulting vacuum is immediately filled by competitors.
But if you look at the problem globally, then the ears of Boeing are clearly sticking out of it, which decided to fight to the death (at the hands of the US Department of Commerce) with the Chinese company SOMAS, which seeks to oust American aircraft from the country and replace them with domestic ones.
Well, it is not surprising that this Corporation is able to interfere in decisions made at the highest state level. There are precedents. And the precedents are extremely dirty, smelling of criminality.
In the early noughties, Boeing deliberately reduced the country's defense capability in order to get a profitable military order. In 2001, a tender was announced in the United States for the creation of a 500-pound GBU-39 gliding bomb, which was attended by Boeing and Lockheed Martin corporations. A year later, Boeing won. As it turned out later, as a result of a corrupt deal with the Deputy Secretary of the US air force Darlene Drouin, who deleted the requirement to hit mobile targets with a bomb from the TOR. Thanks to this, Boeing won the tender.
The result was a bomb that only partially met the requirements for modern air-based ammunition. Five years later, they realized, adding a homing head to the bomb. "Boeing" paid off with a fine, insignificant in comparison with the money earned on the development and production of GBU-39, Drouin ended up in prison.
Well, outside the United States, Boeing is not shy about methods or means. And in the 90 - ies in the "young Russia" just worked wonders. So, overnight, the" young reformers "who were part of the government abolished duties on foreign Airliners imported into the country, primarily Boeing. It is clear that this was not done out of respect for the famous company. And foreign Airliners flooded into Russia, which did not have long to develop the resource.
Moreover, there is evidence of how the domestic aviation industry was smashed. In 1995, Alexander Livshits, assistant to the President of Russia for Economics, sent Yeltsin a note with the following content: "unfortunately, recently there has been an extremely dangerous trend of thoughtless lobbying of the interests of the domestic aircraft industry by government structures. We ask you to support the issue of the inadmissibility of the serial launch of the Tu-204 aircraft on Russian air routes and the continuation of leasing advanced models of Western aircraft." It is quite clear that such things are not done selflessly.
Now Boeing sees a competitive threat not only in China, but also in Russia. And specifically in the Irkut Corporation, where in the foreseeable future it is planned to launch mass production of MS-21 narrow-body Airliners. First of all, they are more economical to operate than the Boeings and Airbases. And, secondly, more comfortable due to a significant increase in the width of the cabin.
One blow to the MS-21 "Boeing" has already struck. The aircraft uses a" black wing " — made of carbon fiber. It is this material that allows you to get excellent performance characteristics. The material for the" black wing " was purchased in the United States. But until it became clear that the plane turned out that we need to prepare for serial production. The United States banned the sale of material to Russia for the "black wing". But, in the end, with the help of Rosatom, a way out of this difficult situation was found.
And now a new attempt is being made to sink an aircraft that can really threaten Boeing and Airbus not only in the Russian market, but also in the international market. And, unfortunately, the States have the leverage to do this. Yes, the "black wing" is now doing it yourself. Replaced the Pratt & Whitney engine with a domestic PD-14. But it has not yet been possible to completely get rid of foreign suppliers. Avionics for the airliner is supplied by the American company Hamilton Sundstrand. And in this direction, you can expect anything.
However, there is hope that the list will not have time to approve before the end of the trump administration. This is a long process, and the American bureaucracy is just as inertial as the Russian one. And the new administration will simply throw the unfinished document in the trash.
Vladimir Tuchkov
