Trump's equity stake plan doesn't apply to big US defence firms: Boeing

Govt wants industry to make investments in facilities, and large contractors are expected be able to do this, Steve Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security said

US President Donald Trump's plan to take government equity stakes in strategic industries doesn't apply to major defence firms, the head of Boeing's defense unit said on Saturday, in contrast to previous comments by a senior government official. 

The government wants industry to make investments in facilities, and large contractors are expected be able to do this without government assistance, Steve Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said on a panel at the Reagan National Defense Forum, an annual industry event in Simi Valley, California. 

Speaking about the prospect of the US government investing in exchange for ownership rights, "it really only applies on the supply chain, particularly for the smaller companies coming through where that might be a way forward for them," Parker said. 

"I don't think it really applies to the Primes," Parker added, referring to big legacy defense contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northrop Grumman. 

Parker pointed to Boeing's recent billions invested in St. Louis, Missouri where the company makes fighter jets. 

In August, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration was weighing equity stakes in major defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, a move that sent shares of Lockheed, Boeing and other defense firms higher. 

This year, the Trump administration has taken equity stakes in chipmaker Intel and rare earths company MP Materials, in an effort to prioritise national security in critical sectors where China has become increasingly dominant. Trump has said the government will take stakes in more companies. 

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