Officials searched North’s investment agency over Bombardier

Senior lawyers from the US department of commerce were granted entry to Invest NI offices last month where they searched through every piece of documentation relating to the northern government agency’s financial support for Bombardier in the North over the last ten years, it has emerged.

Jeremy Fitch, one of Invest NI’s executive directors, told a House of Commons inquiry that “they looked at absolutely every penny we provided to Bombardier,” as part of the commerce department’s ongoing investigations into the sale of Bombardier CSeries aircraft in the US.

Earlier this year, the commerce department issued preliminary rulings imposing trade tariffs totalling 300 per cent on every CSeries plane sold in the US. The department has repeatedly stressed that “enforcement of US trade law is a prime focus of the Trump administration” while Canadian group Bombardier maintains it has not broken any laws in the US. A final ruling on the issue is expected early next year.

However, trade unions have warned that the proposed tariffs in the US threaten the future of 4,000 jobs at Bombardier’s plant in Northern Ireland.

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The House of Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee launched an inquiry earlier this month into Bombardier’s recent deal with Airbus and “steps taken to protect jobs” in the North.

On Thursday the committee took evidence at Stormont as part of its inquiry from  Eugene Rooney, a director with the North’s department for the economy; Jeremy Fitch, executive director of Invest NI; and Michael Polson, a client manager also with Invest NI.

Mr Rooney said officials from his department were in a “challenging situation” in the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive and the threat posed to Bombardier by the proposed US tariffs.

“Clearly local ministers would be much more involved because they are closer to the day-to-day issues that arise at the company,” he said.

“But we are trying to make sure our relations are good with the UK departments. The lobbying at a UK level is being led by the relevant UK departments and the prime minister has been involved,” Mr Rooney added.