US President Donald Trump has threatened to stop Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier from selling its private jets in the United States. He said the company would have to manufacture its planes in the country to retain access to the American market. “If they want our Market, they must build here,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday, 7 September 2026. He also claimed that Bombardier’s “products aren’t good enough” and accused Canada of treating the US as a “piggybank”. The White House did not immediately respond to Reuters’ questions about how the restriction would be introduced.
It remains unclear whether Trump could immediately prevent customers from buying Bombardier aircraft. The company’s jets have already been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, the US agency responsible for regulating civil aviation. They also comply with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, known as USMCA in the US and CUSMA in Canada. Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia told Reuters that he did not expect customers to cancel their orders. He also questioned how the US government could stop the approved aircraft from being sold.
Bombardier already has an extensive presence in the United States, despite Trump’s demand that it manufacture there. The company employs around 3,500 people in the country and works with approximately 2,800 American suppliers. It operates a facility in Kansas, where Canadian-built aircraft are adapted for military and other special missions. Bombardier also produces wings for its Global 8000 business jet in Texas and is adding a sixth US service centre. Its other American facilities are located in states including Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois and California.
Trump: "So I said I'm putting a major tariff on Bombardier until Gulfstream is certified [by Canada]. They got certified in two hours. I got a call from the prime minister." pic.twitter.com/5PrgdUL6DY
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 2, 2026
The Montreal-based manufacturer did not directly address Trump’s threat in its response. Instead, it said that its US activities support tens of thousands of jobs across the country. Bombardier spends more than $2.5 billion (€2.15 billion) with American suppliers every year. “Our plan is to continue to invest in our people, our customers and the communities,” the company said. Many of its jets also use engines produced by the American companies Honeywell Aerospace and GE Aerospace.
The cross-border nature of aircraft production could make a ban difficult to introduce without affecting US businesses. Bombardier builds aircraft and components at facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Its supply chain therefore stretches across all three countries, while many of its jets rely on American-made engines. The US is also an important market for the company, with customers there operating around half of its worldwide fleet of approximately 5,100 aircraft. Any formal restriction could affect manufacturers, suppliers, service centres and aircraft operators on both sides of the border.
Pre-owned aircraft are an integral part of how Bombardier supports customers across aircraft ownership.
— Bombardier (@Bombardier) August 18, 2026
Built on our market intelligence and expertise as the manufacturer, the 22nd Bombardier Pre-owned Market Report delivers insights into the trends shaping today's pre-owned… pic.twitter.com/6hXaT25xFS
Those customers include NetJets, one of Bombardier’s biggest purchasers. The Ohio-based private aviation company agreed to buy 12 Challenger 3500 aircraft in December 2023. Its agreement also included options to purchase as many as 232 additional planes. Trump’s announcement came as Canada introduced retaliatory tariffs on US$20 billion (€17.2 billion) worth of around 700 American products on Tuesday, 8 September. The measures followed the collapse of trade negotiations and new US tariffs of 50% on several Canadian goods.
It is not the first time Trump has threatened to restrict Canadian-made aircraft. In January 2026, he proposed tariffs of 50% on Canadian planes and said the US was decertifying Bombardier Global Express jets. He linked the measures to delays in Canada approving aircraft made by Bombardier’s American competitor, Gulfstream Aerospace. Neither measure was introduced, while Canada certified several Gulfstream models the following month. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette described Bombardier as a source of pride and offered her government’s support to chief executive Éric Martel. “I will not respond to provocation with provocation,” she wrote on X, adding that Quebec would not accept another country dictating where its companies must manufacture.
