US slows China aircraft-part licences and limits COMAC supply, sources say

The Commerce Department has slowed export licensing for aircraft parts bound for China and is limiting how many parts it licenses to COMAC, China's state-owned planemaker, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The aim is to keep COMAC from stockpiling US parts while Washington seeks leverage in trade negotiations with Beijing, talks that now run against a January 10, 2027 deadline.

The instrument is the pace of approvals, not a ban. China bought $15.9 billion in US civilian aircraft, engines, equipment and parts in 2025, according to The Export Practitioner. Two sources told Reuters the department is positioning itself to increase pressure on Beijing if the administration asks it to.

Tighter measures are on the table. Officials have shown interest in an export regulation that could make it easier to restrict landing gear and other aircraft parts, two sources said. One draft added a new licensing requirement for aviation hydraulic fluid shipped by US suppliers such as ExxonMobil, according to one person.

The timing tracks the negotiating calendar. US and Chinese officials met in New York and Washington in September to work through rare earth minerals, agricultural trade and artificial intelligence. During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington last week, the two sides agreed to cut tariffs on a range of goods. They also extended a truce that had been set to expire on November 10. Washington's priority is access to Chinese rare earths used in vehicle manufacturing, chipmaking and aerospace.

COMAC is the most exposed target. More than half the parts in its C919 narrowbody come from the US, according to AvBrief. Those include CFM LEAP-1C engines from the GE and Safran joint venture, auxiliary power units, flight controls and landing gear parts from Honeywell, and avionics from Collins. The parts cap lands on a manufacturer already far behind schedule: COMAC delivered 15 C919s in 2025 against an original plan of 75, according to figures cited by Tomorrow's Affairs. US components also matter to the Boeing and Airbus fleets flown by Chinese airlines, Reuters reported.

The pressure also reaches Boeing's biggest China deal in years. Beijing has sought several years' worth of spare parts for the 200 Boeing jets it agreed to buy last spring, the planemaker's first major agreement with Chinese carriers in nearly a decade. The US has been reluctant to guarantee those parts, viewing them as leverage for future concessions, according to the sources. Planes are not generally sold with parts guarantees, Reuters noted.

The two governments have described that deal differently. China's Commerce Ministry said in May that the agreement included US guarantees for the supply of engines and spare parts, according to Tomorrow's Affairs. A White House fact sheet on the same agreement confirmed the 200-aircraft purchase and was silent on any such obligation.

Boeing said, "Consistent with US export requirements, Boeing is committed to supporting Chinese airlines with the parts and services they need as we have done for decades."

Washington has used this lever before, and released it quickly. In late spring 2025 the US suspended licences for GE Aerospace jet engines, Honeywell Aerospace navigation systems and other parts destined for COMAC. It also told makers of aircraft hydraulic fluid that a new licence requirement applied. Those controls, which also covered ethane and electronic design automation software, lasted only a few weeks. Engine deliveries were reauthorised after the two governments eased restrictions in early July, Tomorrow's Affairs reported. In October 2025, President Donald Trump said the US could impose export controls on Boeing parts in response to Chinese limits on rare earths.

The leverage runs both ways. Aerospace has been largely spared Trump's tariffs but has struggled with shortages of parts and materials tied to geopolitical tensions. Producers of the thermal coating sprays that protect jet engines are still facing delays caused by Chinese controls on rare earth materials, according to Reuters. After last year's restrictions, a Chinese embassy spokesperson accused the US of abusing export controls.