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FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said on Tuesday that he expects an announcement on the Canadian certification of U.S.-made Gulfstream aircraft to be made soon."I think we've resolved the issues with Canada," said Bedford, according to Reuters. "My understanding is that Transport Canada will announce the Gulfstream certifications that have been delayed for years."
President Donald Trump threatened on social media on Jan. 29 to decertify all Canadian-made aircraft and impose a 50% tariff on any aircraft imported into America until Canada certifies the Gulfstream G500, G600, G700 and G800 jets. While all Canadian aircraft were included, President Trump specifically targeted the Bombardier Global Express. Aviation industry leaders at the Corporate Jet Investor London conference on Feb. 2 claimed that decertification was unlikely while warning that tariffs pose a more immediate risk to manufacturers, operators, and consumers.
The same day, Bedford raised his own issues over foreign countries not certifying US-made planes at the Changi Aviation Summit in Singapore, according to Aerotime.
"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," said Bedford. "So, we just want a level playing field."
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Transport Canada has declined to say if full certification of the G500 is imminent, according to Skies Plus. Spokesperson Hicham Ayoun stated that the agency will continue to work with Gulfstream and the FAA on the certification of the aircraft.
Éric Martel, president and CEO of Bombardier, was asked during a conference call how Bombardier is engaging with the FAA following President Trump's statement. He claimed that the issue was between Transport Canada, the FAA and Gulfstream.
"This was clearly an issue that Bombardier is not involved in right now," he said. "It is between Transport Canada, somehow the FAA and our competitor that they need to work together to get this to the bottom line. So, I guess you've seen the same information. I think there was some public comment yesterday made by the FAA that things are tracking. So we saw that as maybe a threat against us, but I think that situation is going to soon get resolved and we're going to be back to normal business. Between now and then, anyway, it's been a regular business. We've been delivering airplanes and our airplanes are flying, so that's how we've been looking into that."