Boeing Featured in Nearly All US Trade Deals—Here’s Why

The company built 38 MAX jets in the second quarter, its FAA-set limit, and plans to seek approval to raise output to 42 to meet strong demand.

The Boeing logo is displayed during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show on June 20, 2025. Benoit Tessier/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The skies are clearing for Boeing these days as it emerges as the clear winner of trade deals during the tariff negotiations between the United States and its trading partners, according to analysts. Advantages include exceptions from tariffs and the purchase of scores of aircraft from the company.

Under the EU–U.S. trade agreement announced on July 27, the United States will increase tariffs on EU imports to 15 percent, with an exemption for aircraft and aircraft parts—an outcome that benefits Boeing, as it strives to rebuild its tarnished image from accidents and prolonged strikes that have resulted in sizable losses in recent years.

Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said during an earnings call on July 29 that free trade is important to the company’s business as a leading U.S. manufacturer and exporter.

“As a reminder, about 80 percent of our commercial supply chain spending goes to the U.S.,” he said. “And about 80 percent of our commercial deliveries are to customers outside the U.S.”

Ortberg also thanked U.S. and EU leaders for the tariff exemption.

“We appreciate the administration and Congress for championing the U.S. aerospace industry around the world, and applaud President [Donald] Trump and the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for reaching a negotiated agreement that will be good for the aerospace industry in the U.S. and Europe,” he said.

As part of the recent trade deals and negotiations, the aircraft maker has also received orders from Indonesia, Japan, China, the UK, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. These orders have raised the company’s backlog at the end of the second quarter to $619 billion.

As Ortberg explained during the earnings call, the company operates at full capacity, producing 38 MAX aircraft per month in the second quarter, the maximum capacity set by the Federal Aviation Administration, and is planning to ask permission from the regulator to raise production to 42 per month in the second half of the year to meet the robust demand.

Not About Political Favor

Robert Khachatryan, CEO and founder of Freight Right, told The Epoch Times that Boeing typically receives special treatment in trade negotiations.

“Boeing often receives special attention in U.S. trade negotiations, not because of preferential treatment in a political sense, but because of the unique role it plays in the broader American economy, industrial base, and geopolitical strategy,” he said.

This role has been strengthened in recent years, as the company, in a reversal of two decades of outsourcing, has been expanding insourcing. It has brought back production in-house by acquiring its critical supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, which it sold in 2005.

Boeing’s broad role in the American economy is exemplified in a New York Fed study, which finds that the halt of 737 MAX production in early 2020 knocked off approximately 0.4 percentage points from U.S. GDP growth in that quarter.

“Boeing is a large firm that is highly integrated in the domestic production network and that has been hit by a sizable firm-specific shock. Thus, one should expect U.S. GDP to suffer, all else being equal,” wrote Julian di Giovanni, an assistant vice president in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group, and author of the article.

Meanwhile, Boeing’s performance has a significant impact on the supplier chain and state economies. For instance, Boeing accounted for roughly 80 percent of Washington’s aerospace industry revenue, which totaled $71 billion in 2023.

In Alabama, Boeing’s operations also generated $2.7 billion in economic output and contributed $1.3 billion to the state’s GDP in 2021 alone.

The company is also a large contributor to the economies of South Carolina and Missouri, creating billions in output and tax revenue and scores of jobs.

Boeing currently employs more than 172,000 people and works with more than 11,000 suppliers, which “conservatively” employ another 300,000 people, according to Ibrahim AlHusseini, a venture capitalist.

“So, as America’s largest exporter and a prized symbol of its industrial might, Boeing often takes center stage in U.S. trade negotiations. Foreign governments purchase Boeing jets to both upgrade their fleets and signal alignment with U.S. economic priorities,” AlHusseini told The Epoch Times.

A Strategic Asset

AlHusseini sees these deals serving to unlock broader trade concessions, easing tariff tensions, and boosting American exports. “Boeing isn’t just a manufacturer, it’s also a geopolitical lever,” he said.

“Boeing is also a strategic asset,” Khachatryan said, since civil aviation sales are often linked to broader diplomatic and defense ties between the United States and the rest of the world.

“When the U.S. enters major trade negotiations, whether with allies or competitors, regulatory harmonization and procurement terms are frequently on the agenda,” he said. “The goal is not just to reduce tariffs but to secure fair and reciprocal treatment for U.S. aerospace firms in complex, high-value international tenders.”

Khachatryan highlighted the recent trade tensions between the United States and Brazil as a case in point.

“While headline issues may center on agriculture or digital services, underlying concerns often include the balance of market access in aerospace. Brazil’s Embraer, Boeing’s one-time proposed partner, competes directly in the regional jet space,” he said. “Any disruption to that segment, whether from tariffs or shifting procurement policies, has implications for both domestic employment and international market share.”

In trade relations with the European Union, Khachatryan sees Boeing’s role becoming even more pronounced.

“The longstanding competition with Airbus has made aerospace a key point of contention in U.S.-EU negotiations,” he said. “Disputes at the World Trade Organization over aircraft subsidies have triggered retaliatory tariffs on unrelated goods, underlining how central aviation is to the overall trade relationship.

“Ultimately, Boeing receives focused attention in U.S. trade policy because of its scale, strategic importance, and integration into both commercial and national interests.”