US President Donald Trump posted the following on Truth Social last night.
Based on the fact that Canada has wrongly, illegally and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700 and 800 Jets, some of the largest and most technologically advanced aircraft ever manufactured, we are hereby decertifying its Bombardier Global Expresses and all aircraft manufactured in Canada, until Gulfstream, a large American company, is fully certified, as it should have been many years ago. Additionally, Canada effectively prohibits the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this same certification process. If, for any reason, this situation is not corrected immediately, I will charge Canada a 50% tariff on any and all aircraft sold in the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
President Trump threatens to decertify all Canadian-made aircraft. This would mean that more than 5,000 planes would be grounded immediately, more if Canadian engines on US-built planes are also included.
Bombardier
- Global Series: Global 5500, 6500, 7500 and the new Global 8000.
- Challenger Series: Challenger 3500 and Challenger 650.
Airbus (Mirabel Facility):
- Airbus A220: Originally Bombardier CSeries, they are widely used by US airlines such as Delta and JetBlue.
De Havilland Canada:
- Dash 8-400 (Q400): regional turboprops.
- DHC-6 Twin Otter – Utility aircraft used for remote operations.
- DHC-515: Specialized firefighting aircraft (water bombers).
Bell Textron Canada (Mirabel facility):
- Commercial helicopters: models such as the Bell 407, 429 and 505 are manufactured in Quebec.
Ironically, if the intent is to include those aircraft with Canadian-made engines, this would include the Gulfstream series you are trying to defend.
Gulf Stream:
- Gulfstream G500 and G600 – Powered by the P&WC PW800 series.
- Gulfstream G400: PW800
- Gulfstream G200: PW306
Cessna (Textron Aviation):
- Cessna Caravan: PT6A
- Cessna SkyCourier: PT6A-65SC
- Cessna Citation Series – Several models use PW300 or PW500 series engines
Is:
Pilatus (Swiss, but widely sold in the US):
- PC-12 and PC-24: PT6A and FJ44 (often serviced/association through Canadian divisions).
Dassault Falcon:
- Falcon 6X, 7X and 8X: PW800 or PW300
Agricultural and firefighting aircraft:
- Air Tractor and Thrush aircraft (critical to American agriculture) almost exclusively use Canadian-made PT6A engines.
To be honest, the list of planes affected by this tells me that the president of the United States will be pressured to reverse his stance fairly quickly.
In fact, according to Reuters, the White House has already walked back its statement, saying that President Trump was not suggesting decertifying Canadian-built planes already in operation. Airline representatives have also reported receiving similar assurances from the FAA. Officially, the FAA has yet to respond to the situation, other than referring all inquiries to the White House.
Under US federal law (14 CFR § 21.181), the FAA has the authority to revoke or suspend an aircraft’s certificate of airworthiness; However, historically this has been restricted to non-compliance with safety regulations and falsification of technical data. Any attempt to revoke a security certification in retaliation is likely to be challenged. The Administrative Procedure Act (5 USC § 706(2)(A)) allows federal courts to overturn FAA decisions if they are “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise inconsistent with law.”
Bombardier has launched a official statement.
We have taken note of the President of the United States’ post on social media and are in contact with the Canadian government. Bombardier is a global company that employs more than 3,000 people in the U.S. across 9 major facilities and creates thousands of U.S. jobs through 2,800 suppliers. Our aircraft, facilities and technicians are fully certified to FAA standards and are recognized around the world. We are actively investing in the expansion of our U.S. operations, including a recent announcement in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Thousands of Canadian-built private and civilian aircraft fly to the United States every day. We hope this is resolved quickly to avoid a significant impact on air traffic and the flying public.
Traditionally, aircraft are certified in their country of manufacture and other countries do the same without necessarily conducting independent reviews. The United States and Canada have a formal treaty in force, the Bilateral aviation safety agreementwhich agrees that if one body certifies an aircraft, the other will validate it.
However, since issues surrounding the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX came to light, several regulators, including Canada, have asked for more information, rather than validating the aircraft based solely on US certification. I assume this is the “firm negative” that US President Trump is referring to.
In this particular case, Canadians have expressed concern about icing in the fuel system of the G700 and G800. The FAA requested a full-scale test to demonstrate the new design’s resistance to fuel system freezing. Gulfstream has requested a limited-time waiver, allowing the G700 and G800 to fly before fuel system icing testing is complete. The FAA agreed to a 3-year waiver ending in June 2026.
Transport Canada has a no-exemption policy for new type certifications. As Canada has a much more severe icing environment, Transport Canada has refused to validate the G700 and G800 models until Gulfstream can demonstrate that they are in full compliance with icing requirements.
To be honest, while President Trump’s bombast works well for his base, this particular stunt is likely to crash and burn. A little quiet diplomacy will almost certainly resolve this political issue before tariffs become a reality. Again.
