Trump says he’s decertifying Canada-made aircraft and threatens 50% tariffs
By Ramishah Maruf, Chris Isidore, CNN
New York (CNN) — President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is decertifying all aircraft made in Canada and threatened a 50% tariff on those planes until American-made Gulfstreams are certified in that country.
Trump specifically said he was decertifying the Global Express, a business jet from Quebec-based Bombardier, along with “all aircraft made in Canada.”
“Canada is effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this very same certification process,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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.”
The threat is the latest episode in a prolonged spat between the US and its next-door neighbor since Trump took office last year.
Just hours earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects Trump to “respect Canadian sovereignty” after reports that Alberta separatists met with US officials. And a few days earlier, Trump threatened a 100% tariff on America’s second-biggest trading partner if it struck a trade deal with China.
It is unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to decertify aircraft; the White House has not released an executive order on any Canadian aircraft tariffs. Trump did not specify any mechanisms to decertify the planes in his post.
No president has ever decertified jets directly. The decision has always been left up to aviation safety experts at the Federal Aviation Administration, said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of industry consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory.
“Using aircraft safety as a tool in a trade war is just an incredibly bad idea,” he said.
Bombardier issued a statement pointing out that it has 3,000 US employees spread across 9 US facilities as well as 2,800 US suppliers. One of such facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, recently announced plans to expand.
“Thousands of private and civilian jets built in Canada fly in the US every day,” Bombardier said. “We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public.”
Trump didn’t clarify whether the decertification action would apply to active or yet-to-be certified aircraft. But an industry source who spoke to CNN on background said that it was the industry’s understanding that it would apply to “new” private aircraft.
“(There is) no indication from folks we’ve talked to that this would impact passenger aviation like Bombardiers that were manufactured 10+ years ago,” the source said.
Regional workhorse
If Trump does ground all Canadian-made jets, it would be a blow to US airlines and passengers.
In addition to business jets, Bombardier produces the CRJ regional jets used on so-called feeder flights. Those typically shuttle passengers from smaller airports to larger airports. United, Delta and American airlines all employ regional airlines for their feeder flights that use CRJ.
So far, none of the regional airlines that provide those feeder flights have reported having planes grounded, Faye Malarkey Black, CEO of the Regional Airline Association, told CNN Thursday evening.
There are 648 passenger CRJ jets that were made in Canada that are in use by US airlines, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Those planes are scheduled to make more than 2,600 flights daily, with a total of 175,000 available passengers seats every day.
Grounding those planes would not only cause widespread disruptions to the US airline schedule, it could leave many smaller airports in rural areas without air service. Regional airlines are the only source of flights for 64% of US airports, according to the Regional Airline Association’s data.
“I think this is aimed at business (jets),” another industry source, who asked not to be identified, told CNN Thursday evening. “I’m well aware of what the (social media) post said, that it was all aircraft. But I would be really shocked if the intent was to ground the fleet that serves so many of the president’s supporters.”
A White House official told Reuters that Trump was not suggesting decertifying Canadian-built planes that are currently in operation. The White House didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment Friday. The FAA referred questions to the White House.
Taking those CRJ jets out of the US air travel system would cause widespread chaos, Aboulafia said.
“It would be a transportation disaster,” he told CNN. “If it’s only the Global Express, it’s not that big of a problem. But if it’s all Canadian-made jets … the (US air travel) system would be seriously impacted.”
Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told the CBC on Friday that members of the Canadian government have reached out to their counterparts in the US government about Trump’s post.
“When the president reacts, tweets, says something, we always take good note. We read, we listen and we don’t panic,” she said, adding that they believe “this can be resolved.”
Steven MacKinnon, Canada’s transportation minister, posted on social media that he had spoken with Bombardier’s CEO as well as senior leadership with General Dynamics, its American corporate parent. Officials with Transport Canada are also in contact with the the US Department of Transportation, he said.
“Canada’s aviation industry is safe and reliable. We will stand behind it,” he wrote.
It’s also not clear from the Truth Social post if “all aircraft” refers to just planes or also helicopters. Canada is a major supplier of civilian helicopters, including medical evacuation helicopters used to move critically ill and injured patients.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
CNN’s Pete Muntean contributed reporting.
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