By the Leeham News and AIN Teams

July 30, 2025, © Leeham News: It’s time for a few odds and ends in aerospace.

• Boeing and tariffs.
• Textron and the small cargo airplane SkyCourier.
• China certifies the first eVTOL.
• The DOT watchdog focuses on the Newark ATC meltdowns

Boeing on tariffs

Boeing is optimistic that evolving tariff policy by the Trump Administration will continue to exempt aerospace products.

On the Boeing earnings call on July 29, CEO Kelly Ortberg said Boeing previously estimated the impact from tariffs imposed by the US on imported parts would be about $500m.

“One of the key areas for us is the equipment we import from Japan. Getting this Japan [tariff] agreement in place will be helpful for us going forward. We understand that to include zero-for-zero, no input tariffs.

“We still need to see what happens with Italy. We import some fuselage components from Alenia in Italy, so hopefully that will also result in zero-for-zero. My understanding is that is the kind of the baseline negotiation strategy as they go through these bilaterals that we will end up in a zero-for-zero, but [there is] still work yet to do,” Ortberg said.

The trade agreement negotiated in the first Trump Administration between the US, Mexico and Canada is called USMCA. Ortberg said this agreement is very important because of the amount Boeing imports from Mexico and Canada. The second Trump Administration upended the USMCA with new tariff demands.

“As they revisit that USMCA, hopefully, that stays in the same trade situation that we’re in today. We don’t see additional tariffs going forward. But if we continue to see this zero-for-zero, I think we’ll be able to beat that $500 million bogey that we’ve established here.”

From the AIN news team

Textron Aviation Upgrades Depend on Customer Input

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

July 29, 2025

The cargo- and passenger-hauling SkyCourier got a lot of attention at the EAA Air Venture show. It surprises people how big it is and how much can fit in it. Textron recently certified the combi version that can split passenger and cargo operations.

The full story may be found on AIN here.

China’s AutoFlight Delivers First CarryAll eVTOL Freighter

By Hanneke Weitering • Science & Technology Editor

July 30, 2025

Chinese eVTOL start-up AutoFlight delivered its first CarryAll autonomous cargo drone to Heli Chuangxing Intelligent last week after receiving airworthiness certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on July 21. According to the Shanghai-based company, the CarryAll is now the first example of an eVTOL aircraft exceeding a one-ton maximum takeoff weight to achieve CAAC airworthiness certification.

The full story may be found on AIN here.

DOT Watchdog To Probe Shift of Newark ATC Management

By Kerry Lynch • Editor, AIN monthly magazine

July 29, 2025

The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG) is kicking off an audit surrounding the transfer of the terminal radar approach control (Tracon) responsibilities for Newark International Airport to a facility in Philadelphia.

This audit comes in the aftermath of a 90-second radar and radio contact blackout that Philadelphia controllers overseeing Newark airspace experienced on April 28 due to a burnt copper wire. That blackout was followed by another outage on May 9 due to failures of both primary and redundant communication infrastructure.

The full story may be found on AIN here.