Trump Threatens Canada With 50% Tariff on Aircraft

President Trump on Thursday threatened to impose a 50% tariff on any aircraft sold in the United States by Canada, escalating his trade dispute with America’s northern neighbor as tensions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney continue to grow.

Trump said the move would be retaliation for Canada’s refusal to certify aircraft produced by Savannah, Georgia–based Gulfstream Aerospace. In response, he said the United States would decertify all Canadian aircraft, including those manufactured by Canada’s largest plane maker, Bombardier.

“If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% tariff on any and all aircraft sold into the United States of America,” Trump wrote in a post, according to the Associated Press.

Over the weekend, Trump had also warned that the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if Canada proceeded with a planned trade agreement with China. However, the president did not provide details on when the new tariffs would take effect, even though Canada has already finalized the deal.

Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Carney responded to reports that U.S. officials had met with a group advocating for the province of Alberta to secede from Canada.

“I expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” Carney said, according to CNN. “I’m always clear in my conversations with President Trump to that effect, and then move on to what we can do together.”

Last week, Carney delivered a speech in Switzerland that appeared critical of U.S. policy and of Trump, though he did not mention the president by name. After Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that Carney was backing away from those remarks, the prime minister reaffirmed them this week, saying he had told Trump directly, “I meant what I said in Davos.”

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