WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Jan 29) the US was decertifying Bombardier Global Express business jets and threatened 50 per cent import tariffs on other aircraft made in Canada until the country’s regulator certified a number of planes produced by US rival Gulfstream.
“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50 per cent 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 neighbouring countries after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, citing US 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 US carriers like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which rely on Canadian-made aeroplanes for many of their regional services. Delta declined to comment and American Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Airline officials said if the US could decertify aeroplanes for economic reasons, it would give other countries a powerful weapon and could put the entire aviation system at risk.
Bombardier also operates multiple service centres in the United States and has a facility in Wichita, Kansas, where it is growing its defence business. The US is the world’s largest market for business aviation and the Canadian company has about 3,000 employees based there.
Bombardier, General Dynamics-owned Gulfstream and Carney’s office did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
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