Honesty Still Matters When Taxpayer Dollars Are at Stake
It goes without saying that if you catch an employee stealing, you need to fire that employee right away. Because by the time you catch a cashier pilfering from the register or a stocker carrying merchandise out the back door to sell on eBay, you can be sure that person has been doing those things long before you had the opportunity to catch them in the act. There should be no second chances.
Doing this is not being cruel, it is being pragmatic. In the same vein, the United States needs to be pragmatic when it comes to choosing defense contractors and being good stewards of taxpayer money. It is counterproductive to work with dishonest contractors. The companies which build our weapons must prove, every time, that they have our national interest in mind.
This is all to make an important point: it makes no sense for the Pentagon to even consider signing new defense contracts with a less than honest company. One prospective defense contractor, Airbus, has been lobbying against sanctions from importing titanium from Russia, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while at the same time seeking defense contracts from the U.S. government.
Back in August of 2022, I wrote here that “the mere fact the company was pushing to create loopholes in sanctions for invading a foreign country should be enough for the Pentagon to shut off Airbus from future and current contracts.” I was, and still am, concerned that a company lobbying against the interests of the U.S. could get government contracts from that same U.S. government.
Airbus is based in France, a country which usually but not always, is a faithful ally of the United States. Still, the company could overcome that drawback and show its fidelity to American ideals, such as abiding by the sanctions and to keep promises to stop trading with Russia.
Titanium is important in the manufacture of modern aircraft and quite rare. “From sections of the fuselage frame and engine blades to landing gear and the numerous bolts and fasteners that hold sections of the aircraft together, the list of aircraft components containing titanium alloys is extensive,” as a key aviation Website writes. Another source reports: “Research shows the strong and lightweight metal only accounts for roughly 0.63% of the Earth’s crust. With such little titanium available, it costs more to harvest and produce than other metals.”
A lot of the titanium available for use is in Russia, the third-largest producer of this important metal. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. led the way to impose sanctions against Russia, and that included sanctioning Russian-sourced titanium.
Airbus, however, argued for a different course. “We don’t think sanctions on imports will be appropriate,” Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said in April of 2022. “This will be a small impact on Russia, and would have large consequences on the rest of the countries and the industry. So, we think the no-sanction policy actually is the most meaningful one.” Perhaps that is because Airbus was getting half of its titanium from Russia at that time?
Still, as the fighting in Ukraine dragged on, the company announced a change of heart. By December Airbus had realized that opposing sanctions was a bad idea. Reuters reported in December that: “Airbus will cease procuring titanium from Russian suppliers in what is now a matter of months, according to Michael Schoellhorn, Airbus Defence and Space CEO.” Maybe Airbus thought it could push off pressure by claiming they were “months” away from stopping the import of titanium from Russia.
By June of this year, Airbus returned to its anti-sanctions approach. “With regards to titanium sourcing, Airbus continues efforts to secure alternative sources of supply in order to end reliance on Russian titanium, operating in full compliance with all applicable regulations and sanctions,” a company executive wrote. “An immediate and full withdrawal of titanium sourcing from Russia would significantly damage the entire aerospace industry in Europe whilst the impact would be marginal for Russia, as titanium accounts for only a small part of its export revenues.”
The thought seems to boil down to the idea that Russian metal doesn’t matter, because going without it would hurt Airbus more than it hurts the country of Russia. That is simply dishonest, especially when compared to the company’s previous vow to stop using Russian metal completely.
Airbus doesn’t think anyone will notice this sleight-of-hand, but the Pentagon should be taking note. When Airbus’ defense arm submits a bid, it should be immediately dismissed. We cannot trust Airbus, and we shouldn’t be giving it any more chances to undermine American policy.
It looks like I was right last year in calling for the Pentagon to keep a close eye on the company’s policy towards importing metals from Russia.
Peter Mihalick is former legislative director and counsel to former Reps. Barbara Comstock, Virginia Republican, and Rodney Blum, Iowa Republican.
