The US President, Donald Trump, posted the following to Truth Social last night.

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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

President Trump is threatening to decertify all aircraft manufactured in Canada. This would mean over 5,000 aircraft grounded immediately, more if Canadian-made engines in US-built aircraft 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 the Bombardier CSeries, these are widely used by U.S. carriers like 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 including the Bell 407, 429, and 505 are manufactured in Quebec.

Rather ironically, if the intent is to include those aircraft with Canadian-built engines, this would include the Gulfstream series that he’s trying to defend.

Gulfstream:

• Gulfstream G500 & 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

Beechcraft:

• King Air Series: PT6A

Pilatus (Swiss, but heavily sold in the U.S.):

• PC-12 and PC-24: PT6A and FJ44 (often serviced/partnered through Canadian divisions).

Dassault Falcon:

• Falcon 6X, 7X, and 8X: PW800 or PW300

Agricultural & Firefighting Planes:

• Air Tractor and Thrush aircraft (critical for U.S. farming) almost exclusively use Canadian-made PT6A engines

To be honest, the list of aircraft affected by this says to me that the US President will be pressured to back down on this stance pretty damn quickly.

In fact, according to Reuters, the White House has already backed away from his statement, saying that President Trump was not suggesting decertifying Canadian-built aircraft already in operation. Airline representatives have also reported that they have had similar assurances from the FAA. Officially, the FAA is yet to respond to the situation other than to refer all queries to the White House.

Under U.S. federal law (14 CFR § 21.181), the FAA has the authority to revoke or suspend an aircraft’s airworthiness certificate; however historically, this has been restricted to safety noncompliance and falsification of technical data. It is likely that any attempt to revoke a safety certification in retaliation will be challenged. The Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A)) allows federal courts to reverse FAA decisions if they are “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law”.

Bombardier has released an official statement.

We have taken note of the post from the President of the United States to social media and are in contact with the Canadian government. Bombardier is an international 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 renowned around the world. We are actively investing in expanding our U.S. operations, including a recent announcement in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Thousands of private and civilian jets built in Canada fly in the U.S. every day. We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public.

Traditionally, aircraft are certified in their country of manufacture and other countries follow suit without necessarily conducting independent reviews. The US and Canada have a formal treaty in place, the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, which agrees that if one body certifies an aircraft, the other will validate it.

However, since the issues surrounding the Boeing 737 MAX certification came to light, various regulators, including Canada, have asked for more information, rather than validating aircraft based on US certification alone. I presume that this is the “steadfast refusal” that US President Trump is referring to.

In this particular case, the Canadians have expressed concerns about the fuel system icing in the G700 and G800. The FAA requested a full-scale test to demonstrate the new design’s resistance to fuel system icing. Gulfstream requested a time-limited exemption, allowing the G700 and G800 to fly before the fuel-system icing test is completed. The FAA agreed a 3-year exemption which ends in June 2026.

Transport Canada has a no-exemptions policy for new type certifications. As Canada has a much harsher icing environment, Transport Canada has refused to validate the G700 and G800 models until Gulfstream can prove they are in full compliance with icing requirements.

To be honest, while President Trump’s bombast plays well to his base, this particular stunt looks likely to crash and burn. Some quiet diplomacy will almost certainly sort this political issue before tariffs become a reality. Again.