US transport chief said economic issues not a factor in 737 Max's safety review

The economic impact of Boeing's planned halt of 737 MAX production will not be considered by US regulators in their ongoing review of when to end the grounding of a plane involved in 2 major fatal crashes, US Transportation secretary Elaine Chao said Friday. Chao said the White House has not pressured the FAA to speed up its review. Chao also said the White House Council of Economic Advisers had conducted a study of the economic impact of the grounding, which forced Boeing - a critical American manufacturing company - to halt deliveries in March, and assessed that it would cause around a 0.4% reduction in US gross domestic product. "Regardless as to what the impact on GDP is, our responsibility is to ensure that the 737 MAX must be safe before it is ungrounded," Chao said. <br/>