Bombardier cites US jobs after Trump sales threat

Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier said Monday that it supports tens of thousands of US jobs, after President Donald Trump threatened to block the company's sales in the United States unless it builds aircraft there.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “No more selling Bombardier in the United States!” He said that if the company wanted access to the US market, it “must build here,” and accused Canada of blocking American banks and companies from doing business there.

Trump did not say how he would impose a sales halt. The Federal Aviation Administration, not the White House, is the US agency that certifies or decertifies aircraft in the country.

Bombardier said in a statement that it creates tens of thousands of jobs across the United States through its American operations and a supply chain made up of about 2,800 US companies across 47 states. It said its aircraft use American-made components including engines and avionics, and that it plans to open a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, later this year.

Bombardier has thousands of aircraft operating in US airlines' domestic fleets. Trump said the US market accounts for more than half of the company's revenue. Bombardier models remain US certified, and the company is currently exempt from US tariffs.

In January, Trump threatened to decertify Bombardier planes in the United States and impose a 50-percent tariff on Canadian aircraft after accusing Canada of refusing certification for new models of US-made Gulfstream jets. Those threats apparently were not carried out. Trump said Canada certified Gulfstream planes the following month because of his intervention.

The latest threat comes during a wider US-Canada trade dispute. Last month, after trade negotiations collapsed, Trump imposed 50-percent tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian products, including hockey sticks and cement.

Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs on a similar amount of US products beginning early Tuesday. The duties of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent will apply to US imports including steel and aluminum products and dairy goods such as cheese.

Negotiations between the two countries broke down late last month after meetings in Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he suspended the talks because the Trump administration's terms were unacceptable. He said US negotiators had introduced restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries at the eleventh hour and had made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture.”