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Boeing CEO Kelly Autoberg said he is working with the Trump administration to ensure the company is not an “unintended consequence” of the trade war with China, suggesting that he will buy more of the country to reduce the trade deficit with the US.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ortberg, who took the helm in August, said the launch of a new aircraft, which is expected to replace the bestseller 737 Max, is “the market is currently not ready.”
As America’s largest exporter, Boeing was caught up in the crossfire of Donald Trump’s volatile trade war. This overturned the aerospace industry’s decades-old tariff-free status, putting aircraft delivery at risk and straining supply chains.
Boeing is poised to resume delivery of new planes to Chinese airlines next month, following a deal that Washington signed with Beijing to reduce tariffs two weeks ago. But on Friday, President Donald Trump accused China of returning to the agreement, increasing the likelihood of China’s response.
The relationship between nations is “dynamic,” Autoberg said, adding that he has learned to “not hyperventilate” “because tomorrow will change.”
“In the end, this will lead to a new trade deal — that’s fine,” he said.
“We’re just managing this period of uncertainty, so we’re just trying to maintain flexibility. We’re making sure we’re communicating with the administration so that there’s no unintended consequences when they negotiate these things.”
The trade war has come at a critical time for industry veterans who described Boeing as the “turnaround year” in April 2025. Autoberg, former CEO of Boeing supplier Rockwell Collins, faced the difficult task of rehabilitating aerospace and defense groups after a series of safety and manufacturing crises.
Just a few weeks after work, Autoberg was forced to raise more than $21 billion in new equity to reinforce Boeing’s balance sheet, and to confront a strike by the biggest union that halted production of the 737 Max.
Ortberg said Boeing will pay “less than $500 million” for the imports needed to build the company’s products. Retaliation tariffs from countries such as China pose a greater threat as they could encourage airlines to refuse delivery.
Nonetheless, Autoberg said he is confident that geopolitical tensions will not slow Boeing’s recovery.
The company has a strong backlog of orders, he said, adding that for a country that even wants to balance trade with the US, aircraft “is a very large dollar item, so it will be a great opportunity for rebalancing.”
According to Autoberg, Boeing’s recovery was progressing with a first focus on stabilizing the company. The plane maker is approaching its maximum production of 38 737 per month, the cap set by the Federal Aviation Administration after air blowouts of door panels last year. Boeing will need to ensure regulatory approval to build narrow aircraft at higher rates at higher rates to generate cash later in the year.
“You’ve reached it once and there’s a steady performance in the government’s portfolio,” Autoberg said. “I assert victory in the stabilizing part of the process.”
“You can call it round the corner.”
Autoberg has reduced expectations that Boeing will soon launch a more fuel-efficient successor for MAX despite concerns that airlines will struggle to achieve their sustainability goals.
Boeing is not in financial position to invest in the new airplane program, he said. The market was also not ready as airline customers still struggled with the durability of current engine technology. Airlines “will certainly not want to jump on something more risky and more difficult,” he said.
He “has the resources, the technology, the ability to do that,” he said.
“Not today, not tomorrow either.”
Separately, Autoberg said he hopes Elon Musk will likely retreat from his daily involvement in building a new air force now that he has left the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the billionaire began advising Boeing to complete two long-lived new jets for the US president, urging Trump to accept the $400 million gift of Qatar’s alternative jet.
According to Ortberg, some of the requirements for the plane are nearly impossible to achieve, Musk assisted Boeing.
