President Donald Trump has retreated from his earlier threat to prohibit the sale of Bombardier aircraft in the United States, bringing a sense of relief to the aerospace industry following heightened tensions and increased tariffs that marked the trade conflict last month.
During a campaign rally on Monday evening, Trump expressed a revised view of the Montreal-based business jet manufacturer, no longer seeing it solely as a Canadian entity.
“I’m going to assist a specific air company in getting their affairs in order,” he told the audience in a suburb of Wichita, Kansas, where Bombardier has a workforce of 1,500 employees.
“I used to regard them as merely a Canadian firm… but I’ve learned they have operations here, and we’re not harming them if they are based in Kansas. So, we’ll look after those individuals and the jobs,” he added.
Wichita is the headquarters for Bombardier’s defense division. The company employs around 3,500 American workers across facilities in Kansas, Texas, California, and other locations.
President Donald Trump stated in a social media message on Monday that Bombardier would be prohibited from selling in the United States unless it began manufacturing domestically, despite the company’s existing manufacturing operations in the country.
Kansas: A Republican stronghold turns into a battleground
Residents of Kansas are already experiencing the direct consequences of the president’s policies. Farmers in the Midwest have faced soaring diesel prices for their farming equipment due to the conflict with Iran. Kansas has transformed into a political battleground as both Republicans and Democrats vie for dominance in this traditionally conservative state in anticipation of next month’s midterm elections.
On Monday, Trump revealed that a conversation with Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall played a significant role in his decision to retract his threat against Bombardier. Current polls indicate that Marshall is closely competing with Democrat Adam Hamilton in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.
Last month, Trump had suggested he would prohibit Bombardier from selling its aircraft in the United States unless the company relocated its manufacturing operations there, a move experts warned would negatively affect American jobs.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” he proclaimed on social media on September 7. “If they want access to our market, they must produce here and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.'”
Bombardier reaffirms its commitment to the U.S.
In response, Bombardier pointed out that it contributes over $2.5 billion to approximately 2,800 American suppliers across 47 states each year, indirectly sustaining tens of thousands of jobs.
“The American aerospace sector benefits significantly from trade and exports,” Bombardier stated in September, echoing the president’s focus on trade surpluses and victories.
Recently, the company opened a skills development center for new aircraft technicians and mechanics in Wichita, which is part of a $50 million investment in the facility.
“Our recently announced investments and the newly opened North American Learning Center will foster high-skilled employment for many years ahead,” a Bombardier spokesperson said Tuesday in a statement to CBC News. “We take pride in our dedicated workforce in Wichita as well as in all over 20 states where Bombardier has employees.”
The U.S. has a $109 billion aerospace and defense trade surplus with the rest of the world, according to the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association.
In response to President Trump’s threat regarding Bombardier’s aircraft sales in the U.S., Defence Procurement Secretary Stephen Fuhr remarked that the Montreal-based manufacturer is crucial for both countries and supports tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S.
Bombardier completes the final assembly of its Challenger and Global business jets in Canada, while over half of its revenue originates from American clients.
“We consider the elimination of this regulatory uncertainty as a positive development for market sentiment, as it reduces an important concern for investors,” stated James McGarragle, an analyst at RBC Dominion Securities.
According to him, Trump’s threat did not have a “tangible impact” on the demand for luxury jets among American buyers in the preceding six weeks.
On Tuesday, Bombardier’s stock increased by $13.85, approximately 4.5%, closing at $325.32.
Despite the tariffs imposed by the U.S. on steel, aluminum, and various products, the aerospace manufacturing sector remains highly integrated across North America and beyond.
Analysts indicate that most Bombardier aircraft contain at least 40% U.S. content, with more than half of the value of the ultra-long-range Global 7500 luxury jet derived from American components.
Excluding a major manufacturer from the market would “undoubtedly” result in revenue and job losses for American parts suppliers, National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen noted last month.
A prohibition would also have been “massively disruptive” for numerous American jet fleet operators awaiting deliveries from Bombardier, he added.
Trump’s threats occurred just before Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods took effect on September 8, which was a response to the 50% duties that Washington had placed on Canadian products in August.
Following that, Trump announced bans on most Canadian alcoholic beverages, certain dairy products, motorcycles, and additional items while imposing a 50% duty on even more goods.
The September post on Truth Social marked the second instance this year that Bombardier found itself in Trump’s line of fire.
In January, he specifically targeted Bombardier with a warning to ground all Canadian-made aircraft and impose a 50% tariff unless Canada approved the sale of Gulfstream business jets manufactured in Savannah, Georgia, escalating trade tensions between the two nations.