Trump threatens Canada with 50% tariff on aircraft sold in U.S., expanding trade war
President Trump on Thursday threatened Canada with a 50% tariff on any aircraft sold in the U.S., the latest salvo in his trade war with America's northern neighbor as his feud with Prime Minister Mark Carney expands.
The president said he was retaliating against Canada for refusing to certify jets from Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace. In response, Mr. Trump said on Truth Social late Thursday the U.S. would decertify all Canadian aircraft, including planes from its largest aircraft maker, Quebec-based Bombardier.
"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," Mr. Trump said in his post.
Mr. Trump said he is "hereby decertifying" the Bombardier Global Express business jets and "all Aircraft made in Canada." There are 150 Global Express aircraft in service registered in the U.S., operated by 115 operators, according to Cirium, the aviation analytics company. Several U.S. airlines also operate Bombardier CRJ regional jets.
In total, more than 400 Canadian-made aircraft were flying to or from U.S. airports as of about 8 p.m. on Thursday, according to plane-tracking company Flightradar24.
Spokespeople for Bombardier and Canada's transport minister didn't immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment Thursday evening.
The U.S. Commerce Department previously put duties on Bombardier's CSeries commercial passenger jet in 2017 during the first Trump administration, charging that the Canadian company was selling the planes in America below cost. The U.S. said then that the Montreal-based Bombardier used unfair government subsidies to sell jets at artificially low prices. The allegations were initially raised by Boeing, whose arch-rival Airbus later took a majority stake in the CSeries program.
The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington later ruled that Bombardier did not injure U.S. industry.
Bombardier has since concentrated on the business and private jet market. If Mr. Trump cuts off the U.S. market, it would be a major blow to the Quebec company.
Mr. Trump's threat over planes came after the U.S. president said over the weekend he would impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if it went forward with a planned trade deal with China. The U.S. and Canada have faced off over trade and tariffs since Mr. Trump's return to the White House last year.
And at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Carney condemned economic coercion by great powers on smaller countries without mentioning Mr. Trump's name. The U.S. leader hit back a day later, accusing Carney of showing ingratitude toward the U.S. despite getting "a lot of freebies from us."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Carney on Wednesday that his recent public comments against U.S. trade policy could backfire going into the formal review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade deal that protects Canada from the heaviest impacts of Trump's tariffs.
Carney rejected Bessent's contention that he had aggressively walked back his comments at the World Economic Forum during a phone call with Mr. Trump on Monday. Carney said he told Mr. Trump that he meant what he said in his speech at Davos, and told him Canada plans to diversify away from the United States with a dozen new trade deals.
Besides Bombardier, other major aircraft manufacturers in Canada include De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, which makes turboprop planes and aircraft designed for maritime patrols and reconnaissance, and European aerospace giant Airbus. Airbus manufactures its single-aisle A220 commercial planes and helicopters in Canada.
During the Biden administration, the U.S. International Trade Administration touted the interdependence of the U.S. and Canadian aerospace industries and cited a 1980 World Trade Organization agreement that the website of the current U.S. trade representative says "requires signatories to eliminate tariffs on civil aircraft, engines, flight simulators, and related parts and components."
Canada's Trade Commissioner Service describes the United States as the largest trading partner for the country's aerospace and space industries and the destination for a significant portion of exported aircraft, components and space technologies.
