Donald Trump decertifies all Canadian planes, imposes 50% tariffs on aircraft from Canada sold to the US — Here's why

Trump tariffs: In an escalation of the trade war with Canada, United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will decertify all planes from the country and impose 50% tariffs on aircraft sold in the US until the neighbour approves jets made by Gulfstream Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Canada's refusal to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets — which he called the “greatest, most technologically advanced airplanes ever made” — is “wrong and illegal”.

He added that the US will decertify “Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada” till such time that Gulfstream is fully certified.

He also accused Canada of prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products. He said that “this situation is not immediately corrected,” he would charge Canada a 50% tariff on “any and all aircraft sold into the US”.

It was not clear whether the tariffs would apply immediately or come into effect at a later date, pending Canada's response.

Donald Trump on plane decertification, new tariffs: Full text

In his Truth Social post, early on 30 January (IST), Trump wrote: “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, as it should have been many years ago.”

“Further, Canada is effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this very same certification process. If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America,” he said.

How much of a threat is this to Canada's aircraft manufacturers?

Notably, there is also no clarity on Canadian-made planes already in service in the US, as per Bloomberg. Bombardier’s CRJ line of regional jets is widely used by US carriers, including American Airlines (200 CRJ aircraft in fleet in 2025) and Delta Air Lines (over 150 CRJs till 2024-end), it added.

“I don’t know what this is or where it’s coming from, but it’s beyond a bad idea for the president to get in the way of safety and certification,” Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst and managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, told Bloomberg, questioning: “And does he have any authority to do this?”

Spokespeople for Bombardier Inc. and Canadian government officials did not immediately respond to queries, the report said. It added that a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — which certifies aircraft in the US — directed Bloomberg to contact the White House for comment.

For Bombardier in particular, the hit may well be hard. The Bloomberg report noted that over half of Bombardier’s global fleet of over 5,200 aircraft is operated in the US. In 2024, 64% of Bombardier’s sales came from the US, compared to 3% domestically.

Further, it added that more than half of the costs for Bombardier’s Global 7500 jet are tied to US manufacturing — wings are made in Texas, avionics in Iowa, and motors in Indiana, but the assembly and finishing are done in Canada.

US-Canada trade tensions on rise: What has happened?

Earlier this month, on 24 January, Trump threatened to impose 100% additional tariffs on the country in response to Canada's potential trade deals with China.

In response, Carney, in a video post on X the next day, urged citizens to “Buy Canadian”, adding that Canada will “focus on what we can control”.

“If Governor Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken. China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life. If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA,” Trump threatened.

Prior to this, Trump also lashed out at Canada for opposing his so-called ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system over Greenland. “Canada is against The Golden Dome being built over Greenland, even though The Golden Dome would protect Canada. Instead, they voted in favor of doing business with China, who will 'eat them up' within the first year!” he said on Truth Social.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)