'In 2 hours': Trump claims tariff threat forced Canada's hand in Gulfstream fight

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, September 2, that his threat to impose tariffs on Bombardier prompted Canada to certify Gulfstream jets after a nine-year dispute.

Trump said Gulfstream had spent $60 million seeking certification, while Bombardier faced no comparable barrier to selling planes in the United States.

He made the claim while answering reporters at the White House during a meeting with travel executives.

Trump says tariffs ended a nine-year certification dispute

Trump said a friend trying to buy a Gulfstream jet told him Canada had refused to certify the aircraft maker's planes, preventing sales in the country.

“Gulfstream is the best private jet, considered the best of the best, and they won't certify it in Canada because they make a competitor, Bombardier Global Express,” Trump said.

He said Gulfstream's chief executive told him the company had spent $60 million trying to secure certification over roughly nine years. 

Trump said he then decided to target Bombardier with tariffs until Gulfstream received approval.

“So I immediately said, ‘I'm putting a major tariff on Bombardier and other things until they're certified,’” Trump said.

Trump said he then received a call from Canada's prime minister asking what the problem was. He said he explained that Canada had not certified Gulfstream for nine years.

Trump said the dispute was resolved within two hours of his tariff threat.

“Everything got certified,” he said, adding that Gulfstream had spent millions of dollars on legal fees during the roughly nine-year period.

President uses Gulfstream dispute to criticize Canada

Trump presented the Gulfstream episode as an example of what he described as Canada's broader advantage in trade with the United States.

“That's the way they treat us,” Trump said after describing the certification dispute and his tariff response.

He also said Canada had major banks operating in the United States while not allowing US banks to operate in Canada, calling the arrangement “sort of emblematic of the way they treat us.”

Trump separately claimed the United States had lost between $60 billion and $100 billion annually with Canada for the past 15 years. 

He described the trade relationship as “a very unfair deal.”

He said Canada had charged tariffs affecting US farmers and had taken advantage of US farmers, tourists and airlines.

Trump calls Canada tougher than China

Trump said he considered Canada harder to deal with than China or Vietnam, despite describing China as another difficult trade counterpart.

“I said, ‘No, actually, it's Canada,’” Trump said when describing what he tells people who ask which country is toughest to negotiate with.

He also claimed Canada had taken 20% of the US car industry, while saying he did not blame Canada for doing so. 

Trump argued that tariffs could have prevented the shift.

“We want the cars to be made in Detroit and in South Carolina and in Tennessee and in all of our places where we make cars. We don't want them to be made in Canada,” Trump said.

Trump said the United States had leverage because, in his view, Canada depends heavily on trade with the United States.

“They need us; we don't need them,” Trump said, while arguing that Canada had taken advantage of the United States for years.