US Grants GE License to Sell Engines for China's New C919 Airplane

Exclusive: U.S. Grants GE License to Sell Engines for China's New Airplane (excerpt)

The Trump administration on Tuesday granted a license to General Electric Co. to supply engines for China’s new COMAC C919 passenger jet, a spokeswoman for the company said.

Early this year, the United States was weighing whether to deny GE’s latest license request to provide the CFM LEAP-1C engine for the narrow-body COMAC jet, which is expected to go into service next year.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, which issues such licenses, declined to comment, saying it cannot discuss individual license applications. The White House also declined to comment.

But in February, President Donald Trump intervened, blasting U.S. proposals that would prevent companies from supplying jet engines and other components to China’s budding aviation industry.

“I want China to buy our jet engines, the best in the World,” Trump tweeted on Feb. 18. “I 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...”

Trump’s downplayed any national security concerns. “We’re not going to be sacrificing our companies...by using a fake term of national security. It’s got to be real national security. And I think people were getting carried away with it,” he told reporters. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Reuters website.

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