Airbus condemns Brexit, Trump as double protectionist threat

Airbus CE Tom Enders slammed Brexit and US president Donald Trump’s pro-America trade policies as presenting twin threats to its business, while singling out the UK’s vote to leave the EU as posing the bigger issue. The developments amount to a “double whammy” of protectionist hazards, Enders said. Brexit will weaken British industry and aerospace manufacturing in particular by increasing costs and curtailing competitiveness, the CE said late Monday. While Airbus will seek to mitigate the impact on its business, “whatever we can do, the net result I’m afraid will be negative,” he said. And, under Trump, the US is “no longer fighting for opening markets but to close the US market to foreign companies and foreign competitors,” with arch-rival Boeing a direct beneficiary, Enders said. <br/>