GE Aerospace confirms the US government has lifted restrictions that, for several weeks, had prohibited it from shipping commercial aircraft engines to customers in China.
The administration of President Donald Trump had temporarily prohibited exports of those and other advanced-technology products to China amid a broader trade battle, according to reports in May.
The engine-shipment prohibition by the US Commerce Department had been wrapped up in US efforts to secure greater access to Chinese rare-earth minerals, according to one source.
The suspension left CFM International unable to ship Leap-1C turbofans, which power Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac’s C919 single-aisle airliner, and GE CF34 turbofans, which power the C909 regional passenger aircraft.
GE jointly owns CFM with Safran Aircraft Engines and ships the hot section of the Leap engines to France for final assembly and onward delivery to the customer.
Safran Aircraft Engines has continued production of Leap-1Cs while the ban has been in place, its chief executive told FlightGlobal in June.
The US manufacturer on 7 July confirmed reports that the US government has now lifted the trade suspension, allowing GE to resume engine shipments. GE declines to otherwise comment.
The move follows news in late May that the Trump administration had reached an agreement with China involving rare-earth minerals.
