Washington/Montreal: President Donald Trump said on Thursday the U.S. was decertifying Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatened 50% import tariffs on all aircraft made in Canada until the country’s regulator certified a number of planes produced by U.S. rival Gulfstream.
“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all aircraft sold into the United States of America,” Trump said of the Gulfstream certification process in a post on Truth Social. His declaration came amid broader tensions between the neighboring countries after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, citing U.S. trade policy, last week urged nations to accept the end of the rules-based global order that Washington had once championed.
Trump also said he was “decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada” until the Gulfstream planes were certified. That threat, if carried out, would have a drastic impact on U.S. carriers like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which rely on Canadian-made airplanes for many of their regional services. However, a White House official told that Trump was not suggesting decertifying Canadian-built planes currently in operation. U.S. airline officials told that FAA officials had made similar statements.
Data provider Cirium said there were 150 Global Express aircraft in service registered in the U.S., operated by 115 operators and 5,425 total aircraft of various types made in Canada in service registered in the U.S. including narrowbodies, regional jets and helicopters. Montreal-based Bombardier said it had taken note of Trump’s post on social media and was in contact with the Canadian government. “We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public,” it said.
Airline officials said if the U.S. could decertify airplanes for economic reasons, it would give other countries a powerful weapon and could put the entire aviation system at risk. “Mixing safety issues with politics and grievances is an incredibly bad idea,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of U.S. aerospace management consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory. Delta declined to comment. American Airlines, General Dynamics-owned Gulfstream and Carney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
