The US Department of Commerce has begun limiting the number of aircraft parts it licenses for shipment to COMAC to prevent the Chinese state-owned OEM from stockpiling components, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The department has additionally slowed export licensing for aircraft parts bound for China more broadly in recent weeks, as Washington seeks to use China's dependence on US aviation suppliers as leverage in trade negotiations.

Officials are also considering an export regulation that would make it easier to restrict shipments of landing gear and other aircraft parts to China. A draft version included a licensing requirement for US-made aviation hydraulic fluid, one of the sources said.

China has separately sought several years' worth of spare parts for the 200 Boeing aircraft it agreed to buy earlier in 2026, but the US has been reluctant to provide guarantees, the sources said.

It is unclear whether the current limits extend to the CFM International LEAP-1C engines that power the C919 or the General Electric CF34-10A engines on the C909. The US suspended export licences for both engines and other COMAC-bound equipment in late May 2025, lifting the suspension in early July 2025 after the two countries reached a rare-earth minerals agreement in London.

COMAC delivered fifteen C919s in 2025, well short of its initial target of 75, ch-aviation previously reported. Production was hampered by workforce shortages and delays from foreign suppliers, and the manufacturer has since sought to reduce its reliance on Western systems.

ch-aviation data shows COMAC delivered eleven C919s in the first nine months of 2026: three C919-100ERs to Air China, three C919-100STDs to China Eastern Airlines, and five C919-100STDs to China Southern Airlines. COMAC delivered six C909s over the same period, including one C909(CBJ) to Deer Jet Shanghai.