Emirates’ Clark warns Trump tariffs threaten aviation industry

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, who has run the Middle East’s biggest airline for two decades, says the UAE carrier can handle the costs of new U.S. tariffs.

Still, Clark told CNBC in an interview that the Trump administration’s “trade reset” could disrupt global commerce, with China’s tariffs on U.S. aerospace firms potentially raising costs for Emirates’ wide-body fleet.

“Business models like Emirates, given the international scope of what it does, the strength of what it does, will be able to ride this particular wave,” he said.

Clark said the aviation industry, however, remains in “uncharted territory” as U.S. tariffs are expected to drive up airline costs. “Right now, we are in troubled times,” he said.