Delta Air Lines uses third-country delivery to sidestep aircraft tariffs

Delta Air Lines is once again employing a tactic it has previously used to circumvent tariffs on aircraft imports. By redirecting a new Airbus A350-900 to a third country before it enters service, the airline strategically avoids a 10% universal tariff. This maneuver follows Delta's previous actions stemming from an October 2019 World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling favoring the United States, which claimed European states provided illegal subsidies for commercial aircraft programs.

Flight records from Flightradar24 indicated that Delta's scheduled A350-900, registered as N528DN, was set to travel from Toulouse Blagnac Airport to Tokyo Narita International Airport on April 30. This relocation would have allowed the aircraft to enter service in Japan rather than the US. However, the flight, numbered DL9936, was canceled.

Since the start of 2025, Delta has received 11 aircraft, including two A350-900s, one of which, the N528DN, remains in Toulouse, France. The other A350-900 was delivered on March 25, ahead of the period after Donald Trump’s 'Liberation Day,' which imposed 10% tariffs globally, except for China. These tariffs have been temporarily suspended.