Trump says the Canadian jet maker must build in America or lose the U.S. market. But Bombardier already employs 3,500 Americans — and the White House hasn’t said how a ban would work.
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to bar Bombardier from selling aircraft in the United States unless the Canadian jet maker starts building them in the country.
The threat came in a post on Trump’s Truth Social account. “NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump wrote in the Sept. 7 post, reported by Reuters. In the same post, Trump said more than half of Bombardier’s revenue comes from the United States and accused Canada of blocking American companies, singling out U.S. rival Gulfstream Aerospace. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank,’” he wrote.
The post named no statute, agency action or effective date. The White House had announced no executive order, tariff action, import rule or Federal Aviation Administration measure to carry out the demand, and Reuters reported that the administration had not commented on how such a restriction would be implemented. Separately on Tuesday, Trump said in another Truth Social post that he would direct the General Services Administration and the U.S. trade representative to strip Canadian-origin products from federal contracting schedules unless Canada restored what he called reciprocity. That directive was not tied to Bombardier.
What Is At Stake In The Bombardier Trump Dispute
The stakes for the Montreal-based manufacturer are substantial. Reuters reported Tuesday that the United States accounts for roughly half of Bombardier’s sales and that the company supports 3,500 U.S. jobs, about 1,500 of them in Wichita, Kansas — more than 40% of its American workforce.
Bombardier’s supply chain includes about 2,800 U.S. companies in 47 states, the company said, and it spends more than $2.5 billion with those suppliers each year.
“Bombardier values its great partnership with American companies and its U.S. employees. Our plan is to continue to invest in our people, our customers, and the communities in which we operate across the country,” the company said in a statement Sept. 7. Bombardier also said the U.S. aerospace sector benefits from trade and exports, and that the company supports tens of thousands of American jobs directly and through its supply chain.
It remained unclear Tuesday whether any future measure would cover new aircraft, used aircraft, parts, services, federal contracts or the Bombardier jets already flying in the United States. Reuters reported Sept. 7 that Bombardier customers operate about half of the company’s 5,100-aircraft fleet in the U.S.
Markets and Lawyers Weigh the Threat
Bombardier shares opened 6.4% lower Tuesday and were down 3.6% at midday, Reuters reported.
Three aviation lawyers told Reuters the legal route to a ban was unclear, in part because Bombardier aircraft carry FAA approval.
“It’s creating a lot of anxiety on both sides of the border,” said David Hernandez, an attorney with Vedder Price in Washington.
Ehsan Monfared, an attorney and partner at YYZlaw in Toronto, told Reuters the politics cut against the threat as well. “There are probably too many orders by supporters of the administration that would be impacted by such a move for this policy to ever be implemented,” he said. He added: “And the legal basis of it is questionable anyways.”
Reuters reported that one U.S. client expecting an aircraft at the end of October asked counsel about the threat, while another attorney reported no American resistance to buying pre-owned Bombardier jets from Canadian clients. The customers were not identified. No U.S. Bombardier customer had publicly canceled or suspended an order as of Tuesday.
Kansas Lawmakers Push Back
The sharpest resistance came from lawmakers in the state with the most Bombardier jobs at risk.
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who is running for re-election in November, said he would fight to preserve those jobs and had raised the matter directly with the administration. “I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office,” Marshall said. Adam Hamilton, the Democrat running against Marshall, said on X that Bombardier supports 1,500 Kansas families with good-paying jobs and that “now the president is trying to take that away,” Reuters reported.
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas contacted the administration to underline Bombardier’s importance to Wichita workers and the state’s supply chain, Reuters reported. Rep. Ron Estes, who represents Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, opposed aerospace tariffs, citing Bombardier’s U.S. supply chain, maintenance capability and military work. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers also opposed barring Bombardier jets, according to Reuters.
Bombardier’s American presence extends well beyond distribution and support. The company builds wings for its Global 8000 business jet in Texas and produces flight-control components near Los Angeles. Honeywell makes engines for Bombardier’s Challenger jets in Phoenix, and Collins Aerospace makes avionics and communications equipment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Bombardier is adding a sixth U.S. service center and runs a defense operation in Wichita that prepares Canadian-built aircraft for special missions. In Canada, Secretary of State for Defence Procurement Stephen Fuhr called Bombardier “a great Canadian company” that is important on both sides of the border. “This is just a bit of a rough patch for everybody. But I will say it’s an important company for Canada and the U.S. and we’re looking to find a way through this,” he said Tuesday in Calgary.
A Trade Fight Widening Beyond Aviation
Trump’s post landed one day before Canada’s counter-tariffs took effect Tuesday on about $20 billion of U.S. goods at rates ranging from 15% to 50%. Those measures followed U.S. tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed. The talks collapsed Aug. 21.
Aviation had largely been spared. The Commerce Department closed a national-security review of aircraft and parts imports on July 9 without seeking immediate new tariffs, and Reuters reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recommended against them. The review nonetheless concluded that imported aircraft and parts may threaten national security, and Trump directed the Commerce Department and the U.S. trade representative to negotiate with trading partners instead, leaving tariff authority available if those talks fail. Civil aircraft and parts have long moved under a tariff-free regime linked to the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. The U.S. aerospace and defense sector recorded a $109.2 billion trade surplus in 2025, according to the Aerospace Industries Association as reported by Reuters.
Bombardier entered the dispute in comparatively strong financial shape. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $2.15 billion on July 30, up 6% from a year earlier, with a backlog of $21.8 billion as of June 30 and an outlook of more than 157 deliveries for 2026. Deliveries in the quarter slipped to 32 aircraft from 36.
An Earlier Threat That Went Nowhere
This is the second time this year Trump has aimed at the company. In late January, he said the United States would decertify Bombardier Global Express jets and impose a 50% tariff on Canadian aircraft until Canada approved Gulfstream models. Neither action was carried out. Transport Canada certified Gulfstream’s G500 and G600 on Feb. 15 and the G700 and G800 later that month, resolving the immediate validation dispute.
Richard Aboulafia, managing director of the U.S. aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, said in February, as that fight closed: “I’d just rather keep politics and aviation safety separate.” Aboulafia said Monday that he did not expect business jet customers to cancel Bombardier orders and that he did not see how Trump could stop the jets from being sold, Reuters reported. He noted that most Bombardier private jets use U.S.-built engines.
Gulfstream Aerospace, a unit of General Dynamics, is Bombardier’s principal U.S. rival in large business jets. Bombardier’s current lineup centers on Challenger and Global private jets and special-mission derivatives, following its exit from commercial aircraft and rail manufacturing.
The scale of American demand is visible in past orders. In May 2024, NetJets was revealed as the buyer of 12 Challenger 3500 jets with options for 232 more, an agreement Bombardier valued at more than $6 billion at list prices if all options were exercised. The current status of those options could not be determined.
Key Takeaways
- Trump said Sept. 7 that he would bar Bombardier from selling aircraft in the U.S. unless it builds them there. No implementing order had been announced as of Sept. 8.
- The U.S. accounts for about half of Bombardier’s sales and 3,500 of its jobs, roughly 1,500 in Wichita.
- Bombardier uses about 2,800 U.S. suppliers in 47 states and spends more than $2.5 billion with them annually.
- Kansas lawmakers from both parties, aviation lawyers and the machinists union questioned or opposed the threat.
- Canadian counter-tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. goods took effect Sept. 8.