Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on Canadian Aircraft As Ottawa Scrambles to Certify Gulfstream Jets

Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on Canadian Aircraft as Ottawa Scrambles to Certify Gulfstream Jets

In late January 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a major trade dispute with Canada by threatening to impose a massive 50% tariff on Canadian‑made aircraft and “decertify” them from U.S. skies unless Ottawa quickly approved the certification of several Gulfstream business jets — a move that has rattled aerospace markets, unsettled diplomatic relations, and raised questions about the proper role of regulatory processes and trade diplomacy.

At the heart of the dispute is not simply a disagreement over taxes or trade policy, but a regulatory fight over aircraft certification standards that has now become deeply entangled in geopolitics and industrial competition. While both countries build world‑class aircraft that fly on international and domestic routes, the clash over certification timelines has spiraled into what some analysts call a potential aviation trade war.

What Trump Announced — and Why It Matters

On January 29, 2026, Trump took to his social platform to announce that the United States would decertify Canadian‑made aircraft — including popular models like Bombardier’s Global Express business jets — and threatened to impose a 50% tariff on any Canadian aircraft sold in the U.S. unless Canada approved the certification of U.S.‑manufactured Gulfstream jets. His post accused Ottawa of having “wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused” to approve Gulfstream’s new models, effectively restricting American manufacturers from fair access to the Canadian market.

According to Trump’s statement, this action would remain in place “until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified, as it should have been many years ago.”

This is not simply a tariff threat: the decertification element — saying Canadian aircraft should lose their permission to fly in the U.S. — ventures into territory that has never before been publicly used as leverage in a high‑profile international industrial dispute.

Certification: Technical Process or Political Pawn?

To understand why Trump’s action is so controversial, it helps to know a bit about aircraft certification — a technical, safety‑driven process usually kept at arm’s length from political influence.

Aircraft certification is a stringent review in which a country’s aviation authority decides whether a particular plane meets all safety, performance, and regulatory standards to be operated within that country. In North America, this is typically carried out by Transport Canada in Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States.

Normally, aircraft that have been approved in one major jurisdiction (like the U.S.) can go through a reciprocal recognition or streamlined certification process elsewhere. But in this case:

Gulfstream, a U.S.‑based company owned by General Dynamics, has been seeking Canadian certification for its newest business jet models — including the Gulfstream G700 and G800 — following FAA approvals.

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