Why Does Airbus's CEO Focus on Strategic Self-Reliance?

The US-China trade war, which began in 2018 under President Donald Trump, introduced widespread tariffs and restrictions on goods.

It has reshaped global trade by increasing consumer costs and causing shifts in supply chains that extend beyond goods to restrictions on technology, such as access to semiconductors and access to intellectual property.

Across industries, this shift has had an increasingly large impact, with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury raising concerns about the challenges.

In an internal letter seen by Reuters, he said: “The beginning of 2026 is marked by an unprecedented number of crises and by unsettling geopolitical developments.

“We should proceed in a spirit of solidarity and self-reliance.”

Guillaume added: “The industrial landscape in which we operate is sown with difficulties, exacerbated by the confrontation between the US and China.”

Success despite complex tariff landscape

Guillaume said that the trade pressures have “caused significant collateral damage, logistically and financially”, but despite this Airbus exceeded its revised annual targets for 2025, delivering 793 commercial aircraft to 91 customers globally.

This performance represents a 4% year-on-year increase and is the highest output for the France-based aviation manufacturer since the industry-wide disruption of the early 2020s.

Discussing the results, Christian Scherer, recently retired CEO of the Commercial Aircraft business at Airbus said: “The overall situation is much brighter now with a great deal fewer bottlenecks.”

He said the upward trajectory of deliveries in 2025 was supported by landmark handovers, including that of the A220 and A330neo aircraft.

Due to these issues with delivery goals, Guillaume wrote: “We must be more rigorous in managing our systems and products in general.

“Our most serious difficulties have been with the Pratt and Whitney and CFM engines,” he said.

In the company announcement of its 2025 performance in January, Christian added that “jet engines for the A320neo family continued to arrive very, very late in 2025”, forcing Airbus to manage airframes in various stages of completion at its final assembly lines.

Using agility and a diversified footpr

The company has stayed agile amid tariff changes by leveraging its diversified, global industrial footprint, particularly its manufacturing presence in the US, and by adopting flexible delivery strategies, such as rerouting aircraft to avoid direct import duties.

Airbus has leveraged local US production. It mitigates tariffs by utilising its Mobile facility in Alabama to build and deliver aircraft directly to US customers, bypassing duties placed on European-imported jets.

This all acts as part of the CEO’s broader growth strategy focused on achieving profitable growth in the second half of the 2020s by strengthening operational resilience, accelerating digital transformation and investing in sustainable aviation.

As of January 2026, this strategy prioritises building a stronger financial base to navigate unprecedented geopolitical crises and supply chain volatility while preparing for the next generation of aircraft.

Guillaume added in the memo: “Achieving profitable growth in the second half of the 2020s is essential: we need to approach this crucial [2030s] period in truly ‘Olympic shape’.

“The future of Airbus will depend on our ability to execute this strategy.”