Canada hails U.S. decision on Bombardier case

OTTAWA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Canada hailed the U.S. trade body's decision that allows Bombardier to sell its newest aircraft to U.S. airlines without heavy duties.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Friday ruled that Montreal-based plane maker Bombardier did not harm the U.S. aerospace leader Boeing, and dropped a U.S. Commerce Department recommendation to slap a 292-percent duty on sales of Bombardier's 110-to-130-seat C Series jets for five years.

"We are very pleased with today's vote by the ITC, which confirms Canada's position that Boeing is not commercially threatened by Bombardier's C Series aircraft," said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in a statement on Friday afternoon.

Bombardier called the decision "a victory for innovation, competition and the rule of law."

Boeing company Friday expressed disappointment in a statement that the ITC "did not recognize the harm that Boeing has suffered from the billions of dollars in illegal government subsidies that the Department of Commerce found Bombardier received."

The U.S. aircraft giant vowed to continue its fight against Bombardier's business practices, which it said will "continue to harm American workers and the aerospace industry they support." Enditem