Donald Trump threatened to ban sales of Bombardier aircraft in the US

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Canadian company Bombardier would not be able to sell its planes in the US unless it moved production there.

“No more Bombardier sales in the United States! Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “If they want access to our market, they need to build here and stop treating America like a piggy bank.”

The announcement comes as a trade war between the two neighboring countries escalates and just hours before Canada is scheduled to impose retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion of American goods.

The BBC has contacted the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada and Bombardier for comment.

It is unclear exactly how Trump intends to ban Bombardier from doing business in the United States. The White House also did not respond to a question about what steps might be taken to ban deliveries of aircraft approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration, Reuters notes.

The Montreal-based company, which specializes in manufacturing business jets, already operates a plant in the US state of Kansas where it produces military special-purpose aircraft, employing 3,500 Americans.

According to the company's website, Bombardier aircraft are manufactured at facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico, complying with the requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in 1994.

Bombardier is one of Canada's largest companies and one of the largest employers in the manufacturing sector in the province of Quebec.

Quebec Economy Minister Christine Frechette wrote on social media X that the company is a “point of pride” for the province and a “flagship of the economy.” She said she contacted Bombardier chief executive Eric Martel and offered full government support.

“I will not respond to provocation with provocation,” she commented on Trump’s statement. “Quebec will not allow anyone to dictate where our companies should manufacture to gain market access.”

Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States deteriorated sharply again in late August after Canada pulled out of trade agreement negotiations, prompting the United States to impose new 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods.

Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the Trump administration of imposing last-minute conditions that he called unfair and economically unsound. Washington, in turn, argued that Canada refused to sign the agreement for political reasons - because of Trump’s unpopularity in Canada (Carney himself denies this).

American aerospace industry analyst Richard Aboulafia does not believe that business jet buyers will cancel orders for Bombardier aircraft, and does not understand how Trump can prevent their sale, writes Reuters. The expert recalled that most Bombardier private jets use American engines.

About half the fleet of more than 5,000 aircraft operated by Bombardier customers is located in the United States. Bombardier has a defense division with a plant in Kansas where the company customizes Canadian-made aircraft for special missions.

As Reuters notes, the aerospace industry as a whole was not affected by Trump's tariff war, with supplies of components and aircraft currently not subject to tariffs. According to the US Aerospace Industries Association, the country's aerospace and defense sector has a trade surplus of $109.2 billion, and exports in 2025 will grow by 25% compared to the previous year.