Boeing Shares Slide as China Halts Jet Deliveries Amid Escalating Trade War

Boeing (BA) shares dropped on Tuesday after a Bloomberg report claimed that China has suspended all Boeing jet deliveries to its domestic airlines, marking a new escalation in the ongoing US-China trade war.

The aerospace giant, which is a key component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, saw its stock fall 1% by midday, following news that Chinese authorities had instructed airlines to halt any further Boeing purchases. This comes amid rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies over tariffs and trade policies.

Neither Boeing, Chinese regulators, nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment. However, former President Donald Trump commented on social media, saying China has “reneged on the big Boeing deal” and is refusing delivery of previously committed aircraft.

The reported halt comes on top of existing headwinds for Boeing. The company has already faced years of declining sales in China, and now must contend with steep Chinese tariffs of up to 125% on American imports. These tariffs significantly increase the cost of Boeing jets—typically priced in the tens of millions—making them financially unfeasible for Chinese buyers even before the delivery suspension.

This move is a serious setback not only for Boeing—America’s largest exporter—but also for the US economy, given Boeing’s substantial contribution to trade, jobs, and manufacturing. The company supports 1.6 million jobs and contributes an estimated $79 billion to the US economy annually.

While other multinational firms often distribute production globally, Boeing builds all its planes in the United States, then exports about two-thirds of them. This makes the company especially vulnerable to global trade disputes.

Boeing has already been on a rocky path financially, having accumulated $51 billion in operating losses since 2018, the last year it posted a profit. The stakes are even higher given China’s strategic importance—the country is projected to need 8,830 new planes over the next 20 years, according to Boeing’s own forecasts.

As the trade war deepens—with the US imposing tariffs as high as 145% on many Chinese goods and China retaliating—Boeing’s future in one of its largest markets is now in question.