Ongoing trade tensions between the United States and Canada hit a new level this week, with President Donald Trump calling for a ban on sales by one particular Canadian jet maker with a significant U.S. footprint — especially in Connecticut.

On Labor Day, shortly before new retaliatory tariffs from Canada were set to go into effect, the president threatened to stop sales of jets made by Montreal-based Bombardier, arguing that the company’s U.S. sales should be halted until it moves its manufacturing stateside.

“NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES! Their products aren’t good enough!” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggybank’.”

Bombardier quickly responded with its own statement, pointing out that it’s already active in the U.S. “Bombardier aircraft create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs through the company’s growing American footprint as well as within its supply chain made up of approximately 2,800 American companies across 47 states,” the company said.  

That includes Connecticut, a key hub for the company’s maintenance operations and workforce development efforts.

According to Bombardier, the company supports close to 300 jobs in the state, many through its Bradley International Airport service center, a 140,000 square foot facility that provides aircraft inspections, repairs and other technical support for Bombardier jets flown on the East Coast.

The company has long been involved in the state’s aerospace industry. Local business groups and economic development organizations call Bombardier a key partner. 

“They’re a valued Connecticut company, and we’re glad we have the opportunity to support them,” said Tommy Hyde, the chief of staff for AdvanceCT, which focuses on business recruitment and retention efforts for the state.

As the state faces broader disruptions from the ongoing trade war with its biggest international trading partner, some Connecticut businesses say the president’s criticism adds to already deep concerns.

Dustin Nord, the director of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Foundation for Economic Growth and Opportunity, said even if criticism is leveled at one specific company, it can affect a much broader group.

“That’s the hard part with trade more broadly,” Nord said. “In the instances where you’re impacting a Bombardier, a lot of these subcontractors don’t just work for one company; they’re working across many companies.” 

“It’s very difficult to target these types of tariffs, or, or in this case, a company-specific type restriction, without having a broader impact on unrelated things,” he added. 

Bombardier wants to solve a key workforce issue in CT

Bombardier’s presence in Connecticut dates back years, but it’s taken on a broader role recently — training new members of Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing workforce.

In May, Bombardier announced that it was bringing its FastTrack program, which helps aircraft technicians develop the skills necessary for key industry credentials on an accelerated timeline, to Hartford. The program’s launch was the result of a collaboration between the jet maker,  AdvanceCT and CT Aero Tech, which offers its own program for aircraft mechanics. 

According to AdvanceCT’s Hyde, conversations about launching the program took off in the wake of discussions about Connecticut’s aging aerospace workforce and the need to train a new generation of maintenance workers and technicians. 

The organization has supported the FastTrack program by helping Bombardier make connections in the state. “Bombardier is a very large employer, and it’s a workforce solution that helps them as a company grow and retain their workforce,” Hyde said. “It’s an opportunity for their existing employees to upskill, take on more roles and responsibilities, and get jobs.” 

Bombardier is also working with CT Aero Tech, which is part of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, or CTECS. Under the current arrangement, CT Aero Tech provides facility space to the FastTrack project, which is run by Bombardier.

In an emailed statement, CTECS said the company is an important collaborator in the state, adding that the partnership “provides valuable career opportunities and connections for our airframe mechanic and aircraft maintenance students.” 

CT officials have defended Bombardier before

The past week is not the first time Bombardier has found itself facing scrutiny from the federal government. 

During the first Trump administration in 2017, the company faced a complaint from rival Boeing, which alleged the Canadian business was violating trade laws by selling its commercial aircraft at below-market prices. The administration agreed with Boeing, proposing a roughly 300% tariff on Bombardier jets. 

At the time, Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney was working with Bombardier to build engines for these commercial jets, known as the CSeries, under an agreement that was first announced in 2007.

The administration’s challenge raised concerns among the state’s congressional delegation, with Rep. John Larson, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Chris Murphy sending a letter defending Bombardier, arguing the engine deal was “critically important to Connecticut,” and asking the U.S. Commerce Department to “refrain from taking action that will endanger the many jobs in Connecticut that depend upon Bombardier.”

Pratt & Whitney did not respond to a request for comment about the deal, which ended in 2018 when Bombardier finalized the sale of a majority stake in the CSeries project to Airbus. 

In a statement provided to the Connecticut Mirror, Blumenthal said he is once again concerned about the impacts that federal policies, in this case the new tariffs, could have on the state’s aerospace industry.  

“Trump’s threat of a Bombardier ban is just one more example of his self-centered scattershot approach to trade relations with Canada,” the senator said. “Bradley boasts a significant Bombardier workforce and we’re fortunate that the company is an important employer in Connecticut and subcontractor for our aviation and defense industry.”

Aerospace is a key industry in Connecticut. According to AdvanceCT, in recent years the state has ranked first in the nation for its concentration of aerospace and defense manufacturing jobs. Aerospace products and parts accounted for 33% of the state’s exports in the early 2020s.

Because of this, potential disruptions to the industry, like those raised in recent months by the escalating tariffs, are cause for some concern. “We’ve heard from our employers. The majority of employers find that tariffs will negatively impact their business in the year to come,” Nord said. 

Still, the exact impacts of the U.S.-Canada trade war on Connecticut will depend on how long the dispute lasts. While tensions have hit industries like construction, and have raised uncertainty for businesses since last year, some impacts could be longer-term, according to Nord.

Business groups and other organizations say they’re keeping a close eye on things, given how important Connecticut’s trade relationship with Canada is.

“We support a lot of jobs because that trade exists, and while we don’t do all of the elements of the manufacturing process in Connecticut, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have a lot of net jobs in Connecticut,” Nord said. “We gain by having that strong relationship with our trading partners like Canada.”