On Thursday, President Donald Trump declared he was invalidating the certification for all aircraft manufactured in Canada, simultaneously issuing a threat of imposing a fifty percent tariff on those planes until American-built Gulfstreams receive certification within Canada.
Specifically, Trump announced the decertification of the Global Express, a corporate jet originating from the Quebec-based company Bombardier, alongside “every aircraft originating in Canada.”
“Canada is essentially erecting barriers to the sale of Gulfstream merchandise within Canada via this identical certification procedure,” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Should this state of affairs not be rectified immediately for whatever reason, I intend to levy a fifty percent Tariff against Canada on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America.”
This menace constitutes the latest development in an ongoing friction between the US and its neighboring nation since Trump assumed office last year.
Merely hours prior, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his expectation that Trump would “uphold Canadian sovereignty” following reports of Alberta separatists engaging with US officials. Furthermore, several days before, Trump had put forth a threat of a hundred percent tariff against America’s second-largest trading partner should it enter into a commercial agreement with China.
It remains uncertain whether Trump possesses the requisite legal authority to decertify aircraft; the White House has yet to disseminate an executive order concerning any tariffs on Canadian aircraft. In his post, Trump furnished no specifics regarding the methods for decertifying these planes.
No previous president has directly revoked the certification for jets. Aviation safety experts at the Federal Aviation Administration have consistently reserved this determination, according to Richard Aboulafia, the managing director at the industry consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory.
He remarked, “Employing aircraft safety as an instrument in a trade conflict is simply an exceptionally poor notion.”
If Trump proceeds to bar all Canadian-manufactured jets from flying, it would inflict a significant setback upon US air carriers and the traveling public. Beyond business jets, Bombardier manufactures the CRJ regional jets utilized for feeder services, which customarily transport passengers from smaller airfields to major hubs. United, Delta, and American airlines all contract regional carriers that operate CRJs for these connecting flights.
Bombardier also produces smaller airliners, specifically the A220. However, a portion of these A220 jets are assembled in the United States while others are built in Canada.
As of Thursday evening, none of the regional airlines providing those feeder services had reported having their aircraft grounded, Faye Malarkey Black, the CEO of the Regional Airline Association, informed CNN.
Data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium indicates that 648 Canadian-built CRJ passenger jets are currently in operation with US airlines. These aircraft are slated to conduct over 2,600 daily flights, collectively offering 175,000 available passenger seats each day.
Grounding these planes would not only precipitate widespread disruption to the US flight schedule but could also eliminate air service for numerous smaller airports located in remote areas. Based on the Regional Airline Association’s figures, regional carriers constitute the sole source of flights for sixty-four percent of US airports.
“My perception is that this is targeted at business [jets],” an industry insider, who preferred anonymity, told CNN on Thursday evening. “I am fully cognizant of what the [social media] commentary stated, that it encompassed all aircraft. Nevertheless, I would be genuinely taken aback if the actual aim was to ground the fleet that services so many of the president’s constituents.”
Removing those CRJ jets from the US air travel ecosystem would create extensive pandemonium, Aboulafia commented.
He articulated to CNN, “It would constitute a transportation catastrophe. If it is limited solely to the Global Express, it presents a manageable issue. However, if it encompasses every jet made in Canada… the [US air travel] infrastructure would experience severe impact.”
Moreover, the Truth Social post leaves ambiguous whether “all aircraft” encompasses solely airplanes or extends to rotorcraft as well. Canada is a major supplier of civilian helicopters, including those designated for medical evacuation, which transport critically ill and injured patients.
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