Trump threatens to halt sale of Canadian Bombardier jets in US - as trade war intensifies

Donald Trump has warned Canadian aircraft company Bombardier that it will be no longer be permitted to sell its planes in the US unless it moves its manufacturing to the country. 

In a Truth Social post on Monday, the US president wrote: "NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren't good enough!"

"If they want ​our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a 'piggybank'."

Mr Trump's threat comes amid an escalating trade dispute between the two neighbours, and just hours before Canada implemented retaliatory tariffs on $20bn (£17.1bn) worth of US goods.

It was not immediately clear how Mr Trump would enforce a halt on deliveries of Bombardier jets, which ⁠have been approved by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

In a lengthy statement following the president's remarks, Bombardier called itself a "strong contributor" to the American aerospace industry, adding that the company creates "tens of thousands of jobs across the United States".

The Montreal-based company did not address Mr Trump's comments directly, but underscored its "great partnership" with American companies and its US employees, insisting its plan was to "continue to invest in our people, our customers and the communities in which we operate across the country".

A 'source of pride'

Bombardier employs ​3,500 US workers, and has a supply chain made up of approximately 2,800 American companies across 47 states.

About half of its fleet - 5,100 aircraft - is operated by Bombardier customers located in the US, while the company also operates sites in Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, California, Washington DC and New Jersey.

Christine Frechette, the Quebec premier - where Bombardier is one of the largest employers in the province's manufacturing sector - described the company as a "source of pride" and a "flagship of our economy".

She also said she had reached out to Eric Martel, the CEO of Bombardier, to "offer him our full support".

"I will not respond to provocation with provocation," Ms Frechette wrote in a social media post.

"Quebec will not allow anyone to dictate where our companies must produce in order to access a market. We will defend our companies, our workers, and our expertise with resolve."

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An ongoing battle

Mr Trump's warning is the latest in an ongoing trade war between the two countries.

Last month, Washington imposed a 50% tariff on $20bn (£14.6bn) worth of goods from Canada following a breakdown of negotiations.

It prompted Doug Ford, premier of Ontario, to threaten to cut off electricity and mineral supplies to the US, saying Mr Trump "better have a pack of batteries" and that "you won't get a grain of sand out of Ontario".

Meanwhile, Mr Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America - a move since adopted by the American tech giants Apple and Google on their maps services - while defence secretary Pete Hegseth mocked the Canadian military on social media, and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent warned Canada could not go "tit for tat" with an economy 13 times its size.

Asked last week whether he would be prepared to resume trade talks with the US, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney responded: "When the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade and stop trying to be tough, and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions.

"It's not constructive, but that's their democracy."

(c) Sky News 2026: Trump threatens to halt sale of Canadian Bombardier jets in US - as trade war intensifies