US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on aircraft from Canada sold in the US and decertify all new planes made in the country until Ottawa agreed to approve some jets made by Gulfstream, a unit of General Dynamics Corp.
Canada had “wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets,” Trump wrote on social media.
In response, the US would decertify “Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified,” he said.
Photo: Reuters
Canada was effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products through the same certification process, he said.
“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50 percent Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America,” he said.
A White House official said that the decertification announcement would only affect new planes — sparing jets already in operation.
Still, it was unclear how the US would decertify the aircraft, as such a measure typically relates to safety issues.
“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,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation analyst and managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory. “And does he have any authority to do this?”
Trump has taken particular aim at Bombardier Inc’s Global Express, but it is the CRJ family of regional jets introduced by the manufacturer that is widely used by US carriers.
American Airlines Group Inc counted about 200 of the aircraft in its regional fleet last year and Delta Air Lines Inc’s regional partners had almost 180 CRJs in fleet last year.
Bombardier said in a statement that it has taken note of Trump’s post and is in contact with the Canadian government.
“We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public,” it said.
Canadian government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency responsible for certifying aircraft in the US, referred a request for comment to the White House.
A spokesperson for the Regional Airline Association said that the group was not aware of any of its members’ aircraft having been grounded and referred any questions to the FAA.
Delta declined to comment while it sought to better understand the announcement.
SkyWest Inc, the largest operator of Canadian-made jets in the US, said it was not aware of imminent regulatory action.
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