USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Donald Trump Walks Back Threat To Ban Bombardier Plane Sales In The United States
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Trump walks back threat to ban Bombardier plane sales in the United States. He recharacterizes Bombardier as more than Canadian, pledges help to Kansas workers.
9 outlets told this the same way.
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Trump backs down
U.S. President Donald Trump backed down on a threat to ban Bombardier plane sales in the United States, speaking at a campaign rally Monday night in a Wichita, Kan. suburb about helping “a certain air company get themselves straightened away.”
Trump told the crowd, “I always viewed them as a Canadian company ... but now I find out they have a presence here, and we’re not hurting them if they’re in Kansas.”
Trump said he would “take care of those people, all right? And the jobs,” after a phone call from Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall helped convince him to walk back his threat.
Bombardier employs 1,500 workers in Wichita, and the company employs about 3,500 American workers across plants in Kansas, Texas, California and other states.
Bombardier’s shares rose $13.85 US or about 4.5 per cent to close at $325.32 US on Tuesday after Trump’s comments.
Kansas politics and jobs
Kansas lawmakers framed the issue as a jobs fight, and Trump said he was going to “take care of Bombardier” while citing Marshall’s involvement in Kansas. Trump told 12 News in Kansas, “We’re going to take care of Bombardier,” and he linked that to Marshall’s role. The threatened ban had become a political issue in Kansas, where Bombardier employs 1,500 workers in Wichita, and the reversal came as Trump sought support ahead of the midterm elections.
Bombardier recently announced a $50-million US investment in Wichita and inaugurated a North American Learning Center for new aircraft technicians and mechanics. Bombardier said its “recently announced investments and newly inaugurated North American Learning Center will support high-skilled jobs for many years to come.”
Trade war context
The backtrack landed in the middle of a widening trade war between Washington and Ottawa, with Trump’s threats issued on the eve of Canada’s imposition of counter-tariffs on about $28 billion of American products.
“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!”
Washington imposed tariffs on some $20 billion of Canadian goods in August, and the resulting retaliatory tariffs took effect in early September.
Trump had posted on social media on Sept. 7 that there “would be no more Bombardier sales in the United States!” because “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a 'piggybank.'”
Bombardier responded that it pays more than $2.5 billion US to some 2,800 American suppliers across 47 states each year, indirectly supporting tens of thousands of jobs.
The U.S. Aerospace Industries Association said America enjoys a $109-billion US aerospace and defence trade surplus with the world, as analysts said a ban would have been “massively disruptive” for American jet fleet operators awaiting Bombardier deliveries.