U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Bombardier, a Canada-based aircraft manufacturer, would no longer be allowed to conduct sales in the United States unless it commenced production within the country.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated, “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products do not meet the required standards! If they wish to access our market, they must establish manufacturing facilities here and cease treating America merely as a financial resource.”
This declaration from Trump, made amid an escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada, marks his ongoing efforts to encourage both foreign and domestic companies to increase production within the U.S. This objective has been a central theme in his economic policies during his current term, prominently featuring a comprehensive tariff strategy that has faced criticism from various U.S. trade partners.
The White House has not yet responded to inquiries seeking clarification on the enforcement of Trump’s directives towards Bombardier or the specific actions that would be taken.
Despite Trump’s statement, it is noteworthy that Bombardier already operates a defense division with a factory based in Kansas, where it assembles aircraft for specialized missions. Approximately half of Bombardier’s fleet of 5,100 aircraft in service is situated in the United States.
At present, Bombardier has not provided any comments in response to these recent developments. In a previous incident in January, Trump had mentioned the decertification of Bombardier Global Express business jets, along with the threat of imposing a 50% tariff on all Canadian-manufactured aircraft until the Canadian regulator certified a selection of aircraft produced by U.S. competitor Gulfstream. However, these actions did not materialize. Subsequently, Canada certified several Gulfstream aircraft models the following month.
Bombardier, headquartered in Montreal, recently disclosed its acquisition of a Canadian factory from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on September 1. This facility is responsible for producing wings for Bombardier’s Global 5500 and 6500 aircraft models. Additionally, in July, Bombardier reported a six percent increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period the previous year, reaching $2.15 billion U.S., primarily attributed to strong demand for aftermarket services.
