Trump threatens Canada with 50% tariff on aircraft sold in US

US President Donald Trump on Thursday rattled one of Washington’s closest trade relationships, threatening sweeping penalties against Canada after accusing Ottawa of deliberately blocking American-made aircraft from its skies.

In a fiery post on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Canada had “wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused” to certify Gulfstream’s 500, 600, 700 and 800 series jets — aircraft he hailed as “among the greatest and most technologically advanced airplanes ever made”.

Casting the dispute as a regulatory ambush, the president warned of swift retaliation. The United States, he said, would respond by stripping Canadian aircraft of their own approvals. “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 — something that should have happened many years ago,” Trump wrote.

Trump further accused Canadian authorities of weaponising certification rules to block US companies from the market. “Canada is effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products through this very same process,” he said.

The president escalated the standoff with a stark ultimatum, threatening punitive trade measures if the issue was not resolved immediately. “If, for any reason, this situation is not corrected at once, I am going to charge Canada a 50 per cent tariff on any and all aircraft sold into the United States of America,” he warned.

The remarks drew swift condemnation from Democrats, including New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who accused Trump of recklessly deploying tariffs against long-standing allies.

Gillibrand demanded that the president abandon what she described as unlawful tariff threats, noting that he had recently floated “100 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods” alongside a proposed 25 per cent levy on South Korean imports. She also pointed to an earlier threat to impose a 10 per cent tariff on NATO countries unless the US was granted access to Greenland.

“As the president continues to recklessly and haphazardly threaten countries with tariffs, working New Yorkers and small businesses are paying the price,” Gillibrand said.

Warning of direct fallout for her state, she said an escalation against Canada would hit New York especially hard. “From fertiliser and electricity to car parts, Upstate New Yorkers rely heavily on Canadian products,” she said, adding that higher tariffs would further fuel inflation. “At a time when prices are already soaring, working families shouldn’t have to pay more for what they need.”

Gillibrand said she would press ahead with efforts to hold the president accountable, citing last year’s tariffs imposed on more than 90 countries — including a 35 per cent duty on certain Canadian goods and a 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy and potash. Those measures, she said, raised costs for New York households by an estimated $4,200.

She noted that she has opposed Trump’s tariff strategy since the outset of his presidency, backing legislation such as the Small Business RELIEF Act and joining more than 200 lawmakers in a Supreme Court brief challenging the legality of the tariffs.

Canada remains one of the United States’ most vital trading partners, with tightly woven supply chains across energy, manufacturing and aviation. Against that backdrop, disputes over aircraft certification — often technical on the surface — carry the potential to ripple far beyond the tarmac, straining both commerce and diplomacy.

With IANS inputs