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.
If Trump does ground all Canadian-made jets, it would be a blow to US airlines and passengers. In addition to business jets, Bombardier makes regional commercial jets used on feeder flights, which typically take passengers from smaller airports to larger airports.
Grounding those planes would also cause widespread disruptions to the US airline schedule and could leave many smaller airports in rural areas without air service.
“It would be a transportation disaster,” Aboulafia said. “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.”
CNN has reached out to the FAA for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Pete Muntean contributed reporting.
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