MONTREAL – A threatened U.S. ban on Bombardier Inc.‘s business jet sales would damage the American aerospace industry as well as Canada’s, analysts say.
As part of a spate of social media posts deriding Canada on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he would bar the Montreal-based plane maker’s business south of the border unless it moved its operations stateside.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!” he said. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank.’”
Bombardier does the final assembly of its Challenger and Global business jets in Canada, while more than half of its revenue stems from American customers.
However, it also runs multiple plants in the United States and employs about 3,500 workers in Kansas, Texas, California and other states, with its defence division headquartered in Wichita, Kan., the company and analysts pointed out.
Bombardier said its pays more than US$2.5 billion to its 2,800 American suppliers across 47 states each year, indirectly supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
“The American aerospace industry is a clear winner on trade and exports,” Bombardier added, adopting the language of the president and his fixation on triumph and trade surpluses.
Ross Aimer, CEO of California-based Aero Consulting Experts, highlighted the deeply integrated nature of aerospace manufacturing across the continent and beyond.
“A lot of these parts are made in the U.S. by U.S. workers. There’s really not an exclusively produced commercial jet or aircraft or even automobile these days,” he said in a phone interview.
Most Bombardier planes feature at least 40 per cent U.S. content, analysts say.
America enjoys a US$109-billion aerospace and defence trade surplus, according to the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association.
National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen said blocking a major manufacturer from the market would “undoubtedly” cause revenue and job losses at American suppliers.
“One would hope that large U.S. aerospace suppliers would lobby on behalf of one of their most important customers — both GE Aerospace and Honeywell Aerospace supply engines to Bombardier,” he said in a note to investors.
Bombardier’s U.S. customer base also means a ban on sales would be “massively disruptive” to the many American jet fleet operators awaiting Bombardier deliveries, he said.
Trump’s threat came hours before Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods took effect just after midnight on Tuesday, a response to the 50 per cent duties Washington imposed on Canada last month.
Trump’s Truth Social post marked the second time Bombardier has come into the president’s crosshairs this year.
In January, Trump singled out Bombardier in a threat to ground all Canadian-made aircraft and slap them with a 50 per cent tariff unless Ottawa approved Gulfstream business jets — assembled in Savannah, Ga. — marking an earlier escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2026.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BBD.B)
