BA Boeing Co

By Doug Cameron and Damian Paletta 

President Donald Trump on Friday heaped praise on Boeing Co. and suggested the U.S. government could increase its business with the aerospace company as he delivered an economic-themed speech that had many campaign trail overtones.

Mr. Trump, speaking at Boeing's North Charleston, S.C. facility, gestured to a large 787-10 Dreamliner behind him and said "That is one beautiful airplane. Congratulations to the men and women here who have built it. What an amazing piece of art. What an amazing piece of work."

The 15-minute remarks he delivered in South Carolina reinforced many of the themes he has made for months, both as a presidential candidate and since he was sworn in.

He said he would cut taxes for almost all taxpayers, cut regulations for businesses, and find ways to financially punish companies that move jobs overseas and then try to sell their products back into the U.S.

"This is our mantra. Buy American and hire American," he said.

Large parts of the new 787 -- which is due to fly for the first time in the coming weeks -- are built outside the U.S. and assembled in North Charleston and Boeing's main manufacturing facilities near Seattle. Boeing created a global supply chain to spread the financial risk of the 787 program among multiple partners.

While Boeing has a record backlog of almost 6,000 jetliners, it has also been cutting jobs to improve its competitiveness with European rival Airbus SE.

Boeing's relations with Mr. Trump have warmed markedly in recent weeks following his initial blast on Twitter in December against the cost of the new jets it will build to serve as Air Force One, threatening to even cancel the plan.

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg has met a number of times with Mr. Trump since then and committed to keep down the cost of replacing the presidential fleet of 747 jumbos. On Friday, Mr. Trump said they were "getting closer and closer" to a deal on the Air Force One successor.

Boeing was also asked to price out its F/A-18 combat jets as a potential substitute for some of the F-35 aircraft being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. for the U.S. Navy. Mr. Trump said Friday the government is looking at "a big order" of additional F/A-18s. The Pentagon last month launched a review comparing the Boeing plane with the F-35.

The president also offered backing for Lockheed's F-35, however. "It was out of control and now it's very much in control," he told reporters.

Boeing's shares hit an all-time high on Friday, while Lockheed was narrowly lower in tandem with most aerospace stocks.

Mr. Trump, who was invited by Boeing to the event, said U.S. companies and workers faced unfair trade imbalances. He didn't mention which countries were responsible for these trade imbalances, but he did reference how he wanted to strengthen security along the U.S. border with Mexico.

"When there is a level playing field, and I've been saying this for a long time, American workers will always, always, always win," he said.

Mr. Trump can enact some of his economic and trade agenda through executive powers, but much of it would rely on congressional assistance. The changes to tax law he wants, for example, would likely require a sweeping overhaul of the tax code. He has said he would like to advance this effort during the summer, but lawmakers appear unclear on how the White House wants to proceed. He didn't offer any new timetables during his speech.

The president ended his speech with unusual praise for Boeing: "May God bless the United States of America and God bless Boeing."

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Damian Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2017 15:57 ET (20:57 GMT)

Boeing (NYSE:BA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

Boeing (NYSE:BA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024