Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus said it has temporarily stopped deliveries of its PC-12 and PC-24 business jets to customers in the U.S. because of costly new tariffs.
“The new customs tariff imposed by the U.S. authorities represents a significant competitive disadvantage for Pilatus,” the company told Reuters on Friday. “In the short term, the tariff will lead to a temporary halt in deliveries and thus to a temporary interruption of U.S. business.”
About 40 percent of the manufacturer’s yearly orders come from the U.S.
Pilatus, which has its headquarters in Stans in central Switzerland, said it would consider reallocating aircraft built for U.S. customers to other markets. It is also speeding up efforts to expand its manufacturing base within the U.S., including a planned assembly facility in Sarasota, Florida.
The company announced its delivery freeze one day after the Donald Trump administration imposed a 39 percent tariff on Switzerland, one of the highest in the world. President Karin Keller-Sutter of Switzerland flew to Washington, D.C., late last week in an attempt to strike a new trade deal that would have lowered that figure to about 10 percent, but no agreement was finalized and the import tax is now in effect.
The White House is reportedly looking for Switzerland to increase energy- and defense-related imports from the U.S. to offset what it sees as a serious trade imbalance between the two countries.
Tariffs are reshaping how foreign aircraft manufacturers do business with U.S.-based clients. Alaska Airlines has temporarily delayed delivery of new aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer, and Delta is keeping new Airbus A321neos in Europe and bringing their engines to the U.S. duty-free.
Some U.S. airlines have also moved foreign-made aircraft to airports in other countries, like Japan, and use them only in international service that keeps them away from American airspace.
