U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to ban the sale of aircraft from Canada’s Bombardier unless it manufactures planes in the United States.
The maker of private jets in response pointed out that major components for its planes, from wings to engines, are produced in the U.S. and that its supply chain that relies heavily on U.S. companies.
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Since Canada-U.S. trade talks collapsed on Aug. 21, Trump and his administration have unleashed a barrage of tariffs, threats and personal attacks portraying Canada as weak and dependent. Canada retaliated Tuesday with tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” Trump said in a social media post Monday. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.’”
Bombardier said in a statement that the American aerospace industry is a “clear winner on trade and exports.” It said it creates tens of thousands of jobs both directly and through its supply chain.
Bombardier's supply chain includes about 2,800 U.S. companies in 47 states, it said. Among other things, wings for its business jets are made in Texas and flight control components are produced near Los Angeles. Honeywell, a major U.S. aerospace manufacturer, makes engines for Bombardier's Challenger jets in Phoenix, and Collins Aerospace makes avionics and communications equipment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“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,” it said.
Bombardier has significant operations in Kansas, where Republicans have held a solid grip on both U.S. Senate seats for a century. Trump won the state by about 16 percentage points in 2024. Both senators said they had contacted the White House to express concerns about the threat to the Canadian company and its potential impact on Kansas workers.
“I reached out to the Trump administration to make certain the President is aware of the significant contributions of Bombardier to Kansas and the importance of its presence in Wichita to many Kansas workers at Bombardier and in the Bombardier supply chain,” Sen. Jerry Moran wrote in a social media post.
Moran promised to continue working to ensure that the planemaker’s manufacturing operations remain in Kansas.
Sen. Roger Marshall voiced the same support in a social media post Tuesday, saying “I’m going to fight to keep Bombardier’s over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I’ve already taken that concern inside the Oval Office.”
Earlier this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his government would buy six early-warning radar planes from Sweden’s Saab and Bombardier, rather than from U.S. aircraft makers. The Saab planes use Bombardier’s Global 6500 aircraft platform, supporting Canadian manufacturing. They have 20% U.S. content. The alternatives would have been U.S.-made E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft made by Boeing or the Aeris X, made by L3Harris.
The Canadian government is reviewing plans to buy U.S. F-35 fighter jets. Saab has proposed making its Gripen fighter jet in Canada.
Bombardier is one of Canada's oldest and most well-known manufacturers. The company was founded by Joseph-Armand Bombardier, an inventor and entrepreneur from rural Quebec who started out making snowmobiles and other snow-going equipment in the 1930s.
Over its long history, it entered and left the train-making business and expanded for a time into making regional and commercial aircraft. But it sold off those parts of its business as it restructured to focus on making private business jets.
The company has also spun off parts of its business that made snowmobiles and other recreational equipment.
