Key Points

At a media event in Seoul to mark the 75th anniversary of Boeing Korea's establishment, Shaffer said the company has long worked to keep aerospace tariff-free under a 1979 U.S. law and is seeking similar provisions in the new bilateral trade deal under discussion, reports Yonhap news agency.

"As of right now, I think the language is still being solidified out of the trade deal on whether aerospace will be carved out," Shaffer told Yonhap News Agency. "I know that both Japan, as well as Europe, have created a carve-out for tariff-free aerospace, so I hope that the same thing will happen."

Shaffer, a former U.S. Navy aviator, emphasized that maintaining tariff-free trade in aerospace is critical for Boeing to support its customers worldwide and to sustain its global supply chain.

He stressed Boeing has been focusing on trying to make sure that the aerospace sector stays "tariff free" so that the company is able to continue to support customers around the world and "also buy from a lot of our suppliers around the world."

Asked about the potential impact of U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump on Boeing's Korea operations, Shaffer said the company is working with Washington for minimum disruption, adding there are "several ways that we are able to work with the U.S. government to be able to kind of keep the tariffs from having minimal impact."

He also noted that Boeing remains committed to its partnerships with Korean suppliers and customers, despite recent challenges, as seen in a massive U.S. immigration raid involving Korean workers in Georgia.

"We continue to have very strong business partners with both industry as far as our supply chain, as well as with our customers, and we continue to work through and support legal immigration processes," he said.

Shaffer also highlighted South Korea as a key partner in the future aerospace industry and projected that its local investment could grow by up to 1.5 times.

Boeing said it invested US$325 million in South Korea last year. The figure represents the value of defense and commercial aircraft parts Boeing procured from Korean partners, such as Korean Air Co. and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Co., placing South Korea among the company's top five to six investment destinations worldwide.

Shaffer added that, considering Boeing's business outlook and production ramp-up plans for aircraft such as the B737, B787 and B777-9, investment in the South Korean market could increase by as much as 50 percent this year.

Boeing's cooperation with South Korea dates back to 1950, when it supplied the DC-3 passenger aircraft to the country's first civil airline, Korean National Airlines, the predecessor of Korean Air.

Last month, Korean Air announced plans to purchase 103 next-generation Boeing aircraft, including the B787-10, worth $36.2 billion in what Shaffer described as the single largest aircraft order in the airline's history.

- IANS