U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday in a post on Truth Social that he is decertifying aircraft manufactured in Canada and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on those aircraft unless U.S.-built Gulfstream jets receive certification in Canada.
“Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets, one of the greatest, most technologically advanced airplanes ever made, we are hereby decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified,” Trump wrote.
The comments prompted uncertainty across the aviation industry, with questions raised about the president’s authority to decertify aircraft and the scope of any potential action. No executive order has been issued, and the president did not outline a mechanism for decertification. Certification decisions are handled by the FAA.
A White House official told Reuters that the administration was not advocating for the removal of certifications for Canadian-built aircraft already in service. Industry officials reportedly told The New York Times that federal regulators indicated the statement was intended to apply only to new aircraft certifications.
Bombardier said in a statement that it employs about 3,000 workers across nine U.S. facilities and relies on roughly 2,800 U.S. suppliers.
“Thousands of private and civilian jets built in Canada fly in the U.S. every day,” the company said. “We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public.”
Certainly not business as usual.
Hello AVweb Team,
Thank you for the article.
An interesting information that raises a lot of major questions on interference between politics and validation of certificates.
I was wondering if you have information on the situation of the Transport Canada validation of the Gulfstream aircraft type validation. My experience with Transport Canada is that they are a competent authority.
I think that such interference is not appropriate and would create a serious precedent. Validation of a type certificate is a safety process and not an administrative one. Validations are governed by Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreements that contains resolution of dispute provisions.
Safety is a matter for cooperation not for tariffs.
I wish you a good day.
All the very best,
Yves
Is there no limit to the ‘technical skill’ set of this president?
Although a big supporter, he can’t do that! Certification is not based on political considerations but by showing compliance to US and Canadian regulations most of which are mirror images with outliers addressed on a case by case basis. Maybe Canada has held up certification, maybe not, but Gulfstream surely doesn’t want to open that can of worms. Sorry Mr Trump but you have no idea what you’re bargaining for..
More de-ranged Bovine Ordure from the spray-tanned Pumpkin.