Trump Demands Bombardier Halt US Sales Unless It Builds Planes in America

President Donald Trump on Monday called for an immediate halt to Bombardier aircraft sales in the United States, threatening to shut the Canadian plane-maker out of a market that generates more than half of its revenue.

Bombardier (TSX: BBD.B), traded in the U.S. under the symbol BDRAF, faces a potentially existential revenue threat if Trump's demand is enforced. Analysts, citing Investing.com market context, estimate full-year 2026 revenue at roughly US$10.2 billion; Trump's own assertion that more than 50% of Bombardier's sales come from the United States implies a U.S. market exit could put about $5 billion in annual revenue at risk.

On Truth Social, Trump declared in capital letters: "NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!" He continued: "Over 50% of their revenue comes from the United States — They live off American Buyers, American Companies, American Airports, and American Service — All while Canada blocks our GREAT American Banks, and Companies, throughout the U.S.A. If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ’piggybank.’"

The post intensifies a dispute with deep roots. In January, Trump threatened to strip certification from Bombardier Global Express jets and impose 50% import tariffs on Canadian-built aircraft, but neither measure was carried out. Instead, Canada certified several Gulfstream Aerospace planes in February 2026, a move Trump presented as a direct result of his pressure. Speaking at the White House on September 2, Trump told reporters: "So I said I’m putting a major tariff on Bombardier until Gulfstream is certified. They got certified in two hours. I got a call from the prime minister." He also claimed a personal acquaintance had spent $60 million pursuing Canadian certification for Gulfstream over nine years before that breakthrough.

The renewed threat comes at a time of broader bilateral rupture. Canada’s counter-tariffs on $27.6 billion worth of U.S. goods — with rates from 15% to 50% spanning more than 700 American products, including steel, dairy, and wood — are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8. The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that no talks between Prime Minister Carney and Trump were scheduled for Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a CBC News interview, warned that Washington will not absorb further Canadian retaliation: "If there’s further retaliation from the Canadian side, of course, we’re not going to just sit down and take that. Our view is, ’Don’t retaliate.’"

For Bombardier, the financial stakes are substantial. The company’s Q2 2026 revenue increased 6% year over year to US$2.2 billion on 32 aircraft deliveries, while services revenue reached a record US$674 million, up 14% from the prior year, according to Yahoo Finance. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at US$9.55 billion, a 10% gain over 2024. Those results now sit under a cloud: no White House or Commerce Department mechanism for enforcing a sales ban has been publicly specified, and Bombardier had not issued a public response to the Truth Social post as of Monday afternoon.

The political backdrop is also uncomfortable for the White House. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published September 1 found only 20% of Americans support higher tariffs on Canada, while 57% oppose them, underscoring a domestic headwind as the administration escalates on multiple fronts simultaneously.