President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bar Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier from selling planes in the United States unless the company moves manufacturing operations to American soil, escalating trade tensions with Canada amid an ongoing tariff dispute.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to Reuters. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank’.”
The threat comes as part of a broader trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa. Canada is set to impose approximately $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods beginning September 8, according to CNBC, in response to Trump’s earlier 50% tariffs on Canadian wine, cement, and other products.
Bombardier countered Trump’s statement by highlighting its existing American footprint. The Montreal-based company stated it employs 3,500 workers across the United States and operates 2,800 suppliers in the country, according to Reuters. The company’s Wichita, Kansas facility alone supports over 1,000 employees and serves as the company’s U.S. headquarters, according to Senator Jerry Moran’s statement to CNBC.
The company also operates facilities in California, Texas, and Arizona, and produces wings for its flagship Global 8000 jet in Texas. According to Reuters, Bombardier spends more than $2.5 billion annually with U.S. suppliers and is adding a sixth U.S. service center, with plans to inaugurate a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana later in 2026.
Bombardier’s U.S. operations focus partly on defense work. The Wichita facility prepares Canadian-manufactured planes for special-mission purposes for the U.S. Air Force, according to reporting by Kansas.com. Additionally, Bombardier’s commercial aircraft use American-made engines and avionics produced by companies such as Honeywell Aerospace and GE Aerospace, according to Reuters.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how Trump would enforce the sales ban or what steps would prevent delivery of Bombardier jets that have already been certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Bombardier’s aircraft also comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal that Trump helped implement, according to Reuters.
Aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia told Reuters he did not believe business jet customers would cancel Bombardier orders and questioned how Trump could legally stop the sales. “Most Bombardier private jets use U.S. engines, which are produced by both Honeywell Aerospace and GE Aerospace,” Aboulafia said, pointing to the deeply integrated nature of North American aerospace manufacturing.
This is not Trump’s first threat against Bombardier. In January 2026, Trump threatened to decertify Bombardier Global Express business jets and impose 50% import tariffs on all Canadian-made aircraft unless Canada certified several Gulfstream planes, according to the National Observer. Neither the decertification nor the tariffs were ultimately implemented, though Canada did certify several Gulfstream models the following month, according to Reuters.
The aerospace sector has largely avoided tariff impacts that have hit other industries. According to Reuters, the U.S. aerospace and defense sector maintains a $109.2 billion trade surplus, with exports up 25% on an annual basis in 2025, compared to the broader manufacturing slowdown Trump has faced in his second term.
Sources
- Reuters — Trump’s statement and threat, Bombardier’s U.S. operations, defense work in Kansas, aircraft components, analyst commentary, previous January 2026 threat, aerospace sector trade surplus
- CNBC — Trump’s statement, Bombardier’s multi-state employment and supplier base, Canadian retaliatory tariffs, Senator Moran’s statement on Wichita employment
- Kansas.com — Bombardier’s Wichita workforce and defense manufacturing focus
- National Observer — Trump’s January 2026 decertification threat against Bombardier
