A U.S. ban on Bombardier sales could ‘massively’ disrupt American aerospace

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 stated, adopting the language of the president and his fixation on triumph and trade surpluses.

America enjoys a US$109-billion aerospace and defence trade surplus, according to the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association.

Ross Aimer, CEO of California-based Aero Consulting Experts, highlighted the deeply entwined 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. Over half of the value of the ultra-long-range Global 7500 luxury jet derives from American parts.

The manufacturer constructs wings for the new Global 8000 on a production line south of Dallas. Its largest parts distribution hub sits a few blocks from Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Its plant in Los Angeles churns out components for its larger luxury planes.

Blocking a major manufacturer from the market would “undoubtedly” cause revenue and job losses at American parts producers, said National Bank analyst Cameron Doerksen.

“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.

“Moving production to the U.S. would not be a practical option.” 

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 less than 11 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.

In retort, Trump signed several executive orders Tuesday evening completely banning the import of most Canadian alcoholic drinks, some dairy products and motorcycles starting Sept. 29. In a trade war ramp-up, he also slapped a 50 per cent levy on more items, ranging from mattresses to motorboats.

His Truth Social post Monday marked the second time this year Bombardier has come into the president’s crosshairs.

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.

Whether Trump will follow through on his latest menacing statements remains up in the air, as does its legal legitimacy.

“It is not clear under what legal authority the U.S. could ban a single importer at a whim,” Doerksen said.

The White House had yet to issue an official policy change on business jet sales as of Tuesday afternoon.

The market also remains “structurally undersupplied,” with backlogs exceeding two years as demand for private planes soars, said Desjardins analyst Benoit Poirier.

Workers and politicians on both sides of the border spoke out strongly against the potential ban.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a release it “firmly opposes” any U.S. prohibition on Bombardier sales, arguing it would undermine the aerospace industry and job growth in both countries.

Quebec incumbent premier Christine Fréchette said the province has to be prepared.

“Sometimes it’s the prelude to action. Sometimes it’s a threat that goes nowhere,” she said at a public gathering near Quebec City amid a provincial election campaign. The governing CAQ leader added: “The threat is real.”

Fréchette said she had spoken with Bombardier CEO Éric Martel and that the provincial government would be ready to support the company and its workers if necessary. Asked whether that could include financial assistance, she said that “nothing is off the table for the moment.”

Even some of the president’s fellow Republicans seemed to push back against his threat, albeit cautiously.

In Kansas, a state where Trump won by about 16 percentage points in 2024, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran noted in a social media post that Bombardier supports a local workforce of more than 1,000 employees.

“I reached out to the Trump administration to make certain the president is aware of the significant contributions of Bombardier to Kansas and the importance of its presence in Wichita to many Kansas workers at Bombardier and in the Bombardier supply chain,” he wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2026.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BBD.B)

— With files from Charlotte Glorieux