Level The Playing Field

President Trump is on a tariff spree. In January, Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines. He recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum. The main reason the Administration gives for enacting these tariffs? Leveling the playing field.

Since the President is of a mindset to "level the playing field," wouldn't he want to address one of the most contentious issues in aviation — outsourcing aircraft maintenance to overseas repair stations?

The argument made by U.S.-based FAA Part 145 repair stations is that they aren't competing on a level playing field with their overseas competitors. They say that overseas repair stations don't receive the same level of FAA oversight, and that those shops aren't required to comply with random drug screening. They argue that these issues not only affect safety, they give their overseas competitors an unfair advantage.

If the FAA has requirements for repair stations that include random (unannounced) inspections and random drug screening, what is the reason foreign-based repair stations aren't required to comply with those same requirements? 

Let's see if anything ever happens to level this playing field!

Thanks for reading,

Joe Escobar