Boeing's 787 Dreamliner Is Made Of Parts From All Over The World

Robert Reich

I just watched Trump give a speech at South Carolina's Boeing facility where the new 787 “Dreamliner" is being unveiled. Trump said it was “built right here” in South Carolina, and that “our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the U.S.A." He also called for "a very substantial penalty to be paid when they fire their people and move to another country, make the product, and think that they are going to sell it back.” And said he'll lower taxes and get rid of regulations that send our jobs to those other countries. "We want products made by our workers in our factories stamped by those four magnificent words, 'Made in the U.S.A.'"

All fantasy. In fact, almost a third of Boeing’s Dreamliner comes from abroad -- from countries with high taxes and high regulations, good wages, strong unions, excellent schools including technical education, and universally-available health care.

1.The Italian firm Alenia Aeronautica makes the center fuselage.

2. French firm Messier-Dowty makes the aircraft's landing-gear system.

3. German firm Diehl Luftfahrt Elektronik supplies the main cabin lighting.

4. Swedish firm Saab Aerostructures manufactures the access doors.

5. Japanese company Jamco makes parts for the lavatories, flight deck interiors and galleys.

6. French firm Thales makes its electrical power conversion system.

7. Thales selected GS Yuasa, a Japanese firm, in 2005 to supply it with the system's lithium-ion batteries.

Oh, and the first delivery of the Dreamliner is scheduled to take place next year – to Singapore Airlines. Currently there are 149 orders for it from worldwide customers including British Airways and Air France.

In other words, contrary to Trump, the Boeing Dreamliner is made all over the world and will be sold all over the world.

His "America First" economics is total demagoguery. We get a first-class workforce by investing in their education, training, infrastructure, and healthcare -- not xenophobic grandstanding.

What do you think?

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