NEW YORK, May 13 — Boeing is “confident” US-China trade talks will yield an agreement, a Boeing spokesman said today after Beijing retaliated against higher US tariffs and the aircraft manufacturer appeared to be a potential target for further reprisals.

As the year-long trade conflict escalated, the editor of party-owned Chinese newspaper Global Times said today that Beijing as might cut Boeing orders as well as purchases of US farm products.

“We’re confident the US and China will continue trade discussions and come to an agreement that benefits both US and Chinese manufacturers and consumers,” a Boeing spokesman told AFP in an email.

Potential trade-war fallout adds to Boeing’s travails at a time when it is already under pressure after two deadly plane crashes forced the global grounding of its top-selling 737 MAX planes.

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As a result of the 737 MAX crisis, Boeing has suspended deliveries of the planes and slowed production, hitting company revenues and clouding its profit outlook.

Boeing, the biggest component in the prestigious Dow index, fell 2.9 per cent to US$344.36 in mid-morning trade amid a broad selloff after China’s latest tariffs announcement.

In 2018, Boeing reported US$13.8 billion in revenues from China, equivalent to nearly 14 per cent of overall company sales.

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During the past five years, about one in every four Boeing commercial jets went to an operator in China, supporting tens of thousands Boeing jobs, a company spokesman said. — AFP