The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has thrown its weight behind US President Donald Trump, after he raised objections over Canada’s perceived refusal to certify several Gulfstream private jets.
In his social media attack against Canada on January 29, 2026, President Trump threatened to “decertify” Bombardier Global Express jets and “all aircraft” made north of the US border.
According to Bloomberg, on February 2, 2026, at the Changi Aviation Summit in Singapore the FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford raised his own issues over foreign countries not certifying US-made planes.
“Our concern is whether or not sufficient resources are being applied to US products equal to the resources that we’re applying to certify foreign products. So, we just want a level playing field,” Bedford told reporters.
In his original social medial President Trump claimed that Canada had “illegally” refused to certify Gulfstream’s G500, G600, G700, and G800 aircraft and additionally threatened a 50% tariff on Canada for any aircraft sold into the US if the situation is not “immediately corrected”.
Trump’s latest Canada eruption: taking aim at Bombardier and threatening new tariffs on planes pic.twitter.com/d4BLxVV3am
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) January 29, 2026
Gulfstream’s G800 aircraft was certified by the FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in April 2025 while the G700 was approved in the US in 2024. The FAA certified the G500 in 2018 and the G600 in 2019.
Bloomberg reported that Bedford said that when the FAA certifies an aircraft, it expects other aviation regulators to accept its certification.
Bedford told reporters that other countries’ aircraft safety validation process “shouldn’t take five, six, and seven years”.
While the US administration said that any decertification would not affect Canadian-built aircraft already in operation the row could disrupt the North American aerospace industry and put jobs at risk.
Bombardier shares dropped 9% on January 30, 2026, following President Trump’s post on social media.
On January 29, 2026, Bombardier issued a statement acknowledging it had “taken note” of President Trump’s post.
The company hit back saying that Bombardier “employs more than 3,000 people in the U.S. across 9 major facilities and creates thousands of U.S. jobs through 2,800 suppliers”.
Bombardier added that the firm was actively expanding in the US, including the introduction of a new service center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
“Thousands of private and civilian jets built in Canada fly in the U.S. every day. We hope this is quickly resolved to avoid a significant impact to air traffic and the flying public,” Bombardier said.
14 comments
The issue is not with Bombardier but with the Canadian govt.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford is correct in stating we “have to level the playing field” in certifying aircraft internationally.
The playing field is not the issue here. If the FAA CANNOT approve the fuel de-icing system of the Gulfstream then no other administration can offer full certification either. Either Gulfstream and the FAA get their act together or their products remain uncertified.
Exactly. Look to your own house. But lets get real. This is another tantrum by the.OrangevToddler, against Canada, undetrstanding maybe 5% of the.issue, not asking any, farvlessvthe right questions to pit it into perspective. I bet, no i guarante this wouldnt have arisen without Carneys speech. Itscpetty revenge, and nothing for US standing in the world.
Normally I think Trump is a blow hard. But, in this case 7 years to certify and aircraft is clearly Canada being protectionist and trying to limit Bombardier competition. If there were any issues the EU would have identified and the safety record is excellent. Canada is playing protectionist politics and the orange nut case may not be wrong in this case.
Why is it Canada that is being slow? Surely it is the FAA that have been unable or unwilling to certify the aircraft fully (only with a special exemption).
The answer to the problem is not to lash out at foreign governments and companies but to get your own house in order first. What is preventing Gulfstream from complying with the regulations fully and/or what is preventing the FAA from certifying the aircraft fully? If the Gulfstream aircraft are truly as good as Trump claims then they should be able to sort this out quickly.
You don’t cover the fact these aircraft were certified in the US with exemptions because they don’t meeting fuel icing standards. 14 CFR 25.91(c), 25.952(a) Canada has refused to grant those exemptions.
Quite right. Complaining about foreign governments is a bit rich when these ”technologically advanced” planes cannot even comply with standard FAA rules is a classic case of blame shifting. However, quoting ‘alternative facts’ has never prevented Trump from blaming others for his own failures and knowledge deficit.
Canada accepted the FAA certification of the fatally flawed MAX.
Boeing clearly broke the rules; FAA did not catch the clearly flawed design.
Other countries accepted FAA certification; tragedy resulted.
Some manufacturers have a history of pushing things through that ultimately proved fatal.
There have been numerous instances of other certification authorities finding issues with aircraft certified by the manufacturers home country.
It has been indicated that Gulfstream has received leeway on anti-icing and Transport Canada is questioning this.
Which begs the question – ‘Can the FAA be trusted at all when certifying their own aircraft”?
It seems wholly appropriate that Canada (and, in fact, all foreign authorities) should critically examine the criteria used for US certifications, in particular.
Remember the time the Dutch refused to accept inthink 747 due to.lack of blow outbanels betweenndeck, andvsubsequent accidents.proved the need. Why was Chinavfirst to ground theMax?? FAA has dropped the ball many times, no one in their.right mind accepts foreign certifications eithout asking.questions. I know i hadbto do exactly that, on original CRJ, first with TransportvCanada and thennFAAand JAA- precursor to EASA.. And FAA required more ( fortunately minor) chsnges than Europeans . Storm in a teacup blown way out of proportion by the toddler tantrums in the Pennsylvania Avenue childcare center.
We should impose an import tax on all US products while that crazy lunatic is president. We should suffocate them and force them back to where they belong.
That gangster-like, thuggish attitude is absolutely unacceptable. And if he wants to play the abuser, we should have leaders who will slap him in the face with his own medicine to remind him of his true position.
Since when aircraft certification became a political dilemma?
Stop making soups and salads…
Why does Bombardier’s product have anything at all to do a Gulfstream product certification, particularly when Bombardier’s products have already been certified? Typical passive aggressive Trump – he gets mad at something and looks for completely unrelated ways to retaliate rather than fixing the actual problem at hand. And no, the doesn’t mean I’m a Democrat!
In having over 17,000 hours as a pilot, I’d rather fly a Global Express over a Gulfstream anyway. Bombardier’s Global and Challenger products, and especially Dussault’s Falcon aircraft, are simply better made aircraft brands than Gulfstream is. I have a friend of mine who manages 155 different aircraft under his corporate umbrella. He wants to ditch all of their Gulfstreams due to frequent maintenance issues.