NewsMacroGOP Senator Jerry Moran Pushes Back as Trump Threatens to Block Bombardier Jets in Canada Trade Fight

GOP Senator Jerry Moran Pushes Back as Trump Threatens to Block Bombardier Jets in Canada Trade Fight

Author: Fox Business Markets·

Key Takeaways

  • Sen. Jerry Moran said Bombardier’s Wichita operations support more than 1,000 employees and contribute to Kansas aerospace and defense work.
  • Trump wrote on Truth Social that Bombardier should no longer sell in the United States and criticized the company’s dependence on U.S. customers.
  • Bombardier said it has workers in more than 20 states, uses American-made components, and supports tens of thousands of U.S. jobs through its supply chain.
  • The company said it spends more than $2.5 billion annually with suppliers and plans to open a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, later this year.
  • The dispute is part of broader U.S.-Canada trade friction, and it is not yet clear whether the administration will formalize any restriction on Bombardier sales.
GOP Senator Jerry Moran Pushes Back as Trump Threatens to Block Bombardier Jets in Canada Trade Fight

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., on Monday highlighted Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier's positive impact in Kansas after President Donald Trump took aim at the company.

"The presence of Bombardier in Wichita supports a local workforce of more than a thousand employees, who contribute their talent and expertise to our nation's defense and aerospace capabilities. This afternoon, I reached out to the Trump administration to make certain the President is aware of the significant contributions of Bombardier to Kansas and the importance of its presence in Wichita to many Kansas workers at Bombardier and in the Bombardier supply chain," Moran wrote in a post on X.

"I will continue working to see that Bombardier's manufacturing operations not only remain in Kansas but continue to grow and create American jobs. Kansas is home to a hardworking, skilled workforce, and I will continue welcoming leaders in aircraft and defense manufacturing to do business here in the Air Capital of the World," the senator added.

Wichita's "Air Capital of the World" nickname reflects its long-standing role as a center of U.S. aircraft production, home to major operations for Cessna, Beechcraft, Spirit AeroSystems and, since Bombardier acquired the Learjet brand in 1990, Bombardier's Learjet facility, which today produces and services the company's business jets.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's comment request on Tuesday.

Trump had targeted the company in a Monday Truth Social post as many American workers enjoyed the Labor Day holiday.

"NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!" the president declared.

"Their products aren't good enough! Over 50% of their revenue comes from the United States — They live off American Buyers, American Companies, American Airports, and American Service — All while Canada blocks our GREAT American Banks, and Companies, throughout the U.S.A.," Trump asserted in part of the post. "If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a 'piggybank.'"

Bombardier issued a statement on Monday indicating that its business utilizes U.S. workers and that its products include U.S.-made components.

"Bombardier's American workers are based all around the United States with sites in Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Delaware, California, Washington D.C. and New Jersey, as well as overall direct employment presence in more than 20 states. 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 spends over $2.5 Billion with suppliers each year," Bombardier noted in part of its statement.

"Bombardier aircraft are built with American-made components such as engines, avionics and many more key systems provided by great American companies. Significantly, the wings for the world's fastest business jet are made by American workers at Bombardier's facility in Red Oak, Texas while crucial flight control components are made in Bombardier's Los Angeles, California area facility. Bombardier has also announced extensive plans to grow its defense activities as well as its service network and will, later this year, inaugurate a new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana," the company noted.

The dispute is part of a broader trade fight between the United States and Canada, which has previously seen the Canadian prime minister tell Trump to "stop trying to be tough." The exchange is the latest in a series of U.S.-Canada trade frictions over aerospace and other industries in recent years, and it comes as Moran — like other lawmakers from states with significant manufacturing footprints — has periodically pushed back against tariff and trade measures affecting employers in their states. What remains to be seen is whether the administration formalizes any restriction on Bombardier sales in the U.S. market, and how the company's American expansion plans, including its Fort Wayne facility, factor into the dispute.