US slows aircraft-part exports to China, Reuters says; spare parts for 200 Boeing jets are now a bargaining chip

The Commerce Department has slowed export licensing for airplane parts headed to China in recent weeks, as the Trump administration looks to turn Chinese airlines' reliance on US suppliers into leverage in trade talks, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

According to the report, the slowdown has three parts:

• Slower licences for aircraft parts bound for China, according to two sources.
• A draft export rule that would make it easier to restrict landing gear and other parts. One version included a new licence requirement on aviation hydraulic fluid shipped by US suppliers such as ExxonMobil.
• A cap on parts licensed to COMAC, China's state-owned planemaker, so that it cannot build a stockpile.

The real bargaining chip: spare parts for 200 Boeing jets

The detail that matters most for Boeing is further down the Reuters story. China has asked for several years' worth of spare parts for the 200 Boeing jets it agreed to buy last spring, the sources said. Washington has been reluctant to guarantee them because it sees the parts as leverage for future concessions. Reuters said it is unclear where that request now stands.

That fits what we saw at the September 23 truce scorecard, when Beijing's own account linked the jet purchases to US guarantees on engines and parts. Planes are not normally sold with parts guarantees, so the request is unusual. Boeing told Reuters it is "committed to supporting Chinese airlines with the parts and services they need as we have done for decades," consistent with US export rules.

The other side of the trade is rare earths. Washington wants looser Chinese control of the minerals used in cars, chips and aerospace. After Xi Jinping's visit last week, the two sides extended the truce that was due to end on November 10, which gives negotiators until January 10, 2027.

Why the stocks shrugged

The aerospace names barely reacted. At 12:52 p.m. ET, Nasdaq quotes showed:

There are two reasons the market can look past it. First, this is leverage that is being held, not used: two sources said Commerce is positioning itself to add pressure if asked. Second, the last attempt was short. The broad 2025 restrictions, which covered GE Aerospace engines and Honeywell navigation systems for COMAC as well as hydraulic fluid letters, lasted only a few weeks, Reuters noted.

Boeing has already taken its hit for other reasons. It closed at $209.69 on September 15 and at $186.05 on September 30, down 11.3% in two weeks, much of it after the 737 MAX software problem. Whatever happens to the China order now affects a stock that has already reset lower.

Who actually carries the risk

COMAC is the direct target. The cap on licensed parts is designed to stop it stockpiling, which matters because it wants to raise output of its own jets and depends on US systems to build them. Chinese airlines flying Boeing and Airbus jets rely on US parts as well, so the hydraulic fluid rule would affect every Western-built fleet in China, not only Boeing's. US aerospace suppliers face uncertainty on both ends. Their exports could be delayed by licensing, and Reuters reported that makers of thermal coatings for jet engines are still dealing with delays caused by China's rare earth controls.

The next date to watch is January 10, 2027, when the extended truce deadline arrives. Any formal rule on landing gear or hydraulic fluid would show up in the Federal Register before that.

Sources: Reuters (syndicated); Nasdaq quotes and historical prices. Percentage changes are Chronicle arithmetic. This is market information, not investment advice.