Published on : Tuesday, June 5, 2018
The US government has renewed tariff threats against China and imposed duties on steel and aluminium on US allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Alexandre de Juniac, the director general of the International Air Transport Association, told Reuters at IATA’s annual meeting in Sydney, “Any measures that reduce trade and probably consequently limit passenger travel are bad news.” “We always get concerned when you start to see tensions elevate around global trade and free trade,” American Airlines Group chief executive Doug Parker said.
Gloria Guevara Manzo, the chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said that the uncertainty could curb demand for the business travel, which is a key driver of profits for the airline industry.
“(Business travellers) need to wait and see what happens – will their business be impacted, do they need to diversify, go some other places. War in trade is not good,” Guevara said.
Air plane makers Boeing and Airbus said that the uncertainty is bad for business and that free trade is important for driving economic growth, creating jobs. Airbus said that the aviation industry existed because people could travel freely and markets are open.
Guevara also said that the WTTC is concerned about tariffs because they meant less money for investing in infrastructure, such as ports, airports and hotels. “Steel for hotels is like flour for bakeries,” she said.