Trump walks back threat to ban Bombardier sales in U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump is backing down on a threat to ban Bombardier Inc. plane sales in the United States.

Trump said Monday night in Wichita, Kan., that he's changed his view of the Quebec-based business jet maker as a purely Canadian company and does not want to follow through on "hurting" it, given its presence in the city, where the company employs 1,500 workers. 

Wichita serves as the seat of its defence division, and is one of several states where Bombardier counts about 3,500 American employees in total.

Kansas, where farmers have felt the cost of the Iran war in higher diesel prices, has turned into a political battleground as Republicans and Democrats fight for control of the typically red state ahead of next month's midterm elections.

Last month, Trump suggested he would bar Bombardier's business in the United States unless it moved its operations there, despite the harm experts said such a move would inflict on American workers.

Bombardier shares rose $9.10 or about three per cent to $320.57 by midday Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.

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By Christopher Reynolds | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.