President 
Donald Trump said on Monday that Canadian jet maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell its planes in the United States unless it builds them there. "NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren't good enough!" he said in a Truth Social post, adding that the company "must build here, and stop treating America like a 'piggybank'." The threat came hours before Canada's retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. goods took effect on Tuesday.
How would a ban work? Trump did not say how he would enforce it. The Federal Aviation Administration, not the White House, certifies and decertifies aircraft, and Bombardier models remain U.S.-certified while the company is exempt from U.S. tariffs, CNA reported. The jets also comply with the USMCA trade pact Trump signed in his first term. Aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia said he did not expect customers to cancel orders and did not see how sales could be stopped, the Korea Times reported.
How did Bombardier respond? In a statement, the company said it creates tens of thousands of U.S. jobs through its "growing American footprint" and a supply chain of about 2,800 American companies across 47 states. Wings for its business jets are made in Texas, and Honeywell builds engines for its Challenger jets in Phoenix, PBS NewsHour reported. Bombardier employs 3,500 American workers and has a factory in Kansas, and about half of the 5,100 aircraft operated by its customers are in the U.S. It also spends more than $2.5 billion a year with U.S. suppliers, DW reported.
Who has defended the company? Kansas Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall have both come to the company's defense. Each said he had contacted the White House about the threat's potential impact on Kansas workers, PBS NewsHour reported. "I'm going to fight to keep Bombardier's over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I've already taken that concern inside the Oval Office," Marshall said. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette called the company "a flagship of our economy" but said she would "not respond to provocation with provocation," the BBC reported.
Has the company been targeted before? In January, Trump said the U.S. was decertifying Bombardier Global Express jets and threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft until Canada certified several Gulfstream planes. Neither step was carried out, though Canada certified Gulfstream planes the following month. Trade talks collapsed in late August, after which the U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
