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

President Donald Trump signalled at a campaign rally in Kansas that he won’t make good on threats to restrict Bombardier Inc. BBD-B-T from doing business in the U.S., saying he just learned the Canadian plane maker has a footprint in the midwestern state.

In a lengthy speech Monday night aimed at boosting Republican Senator Roger Marshall ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, Mr. Trump repeated that Canada is “ripping off” the United States on trade and mused that if it becomes the 51st state, he would let it keep its anthem and hockey. He also said Boeing Co. BA-N is investing $1-billion in Kansas before turning his attention to Bombardier.

“Because of Roger and his phone call to me, I’m gonna be helping a certain air company get themselves straightened away,” the President said.

“I’ll be helping them. Because I always viewed them as a Canadian company, you know what I’m talking about. But now I find out they have a presence here, and we’re not hurting them if they’re in Kansas. So we’ll take care of those people, alright? And the jobs.”

Mr. Trump did not mention Bombardier by name but it’s understood that he was speaking about the Montreal-based luxury jet maker, which he has attacked in the past. The President held Monday’s rally near the city of Wichita, the site of a major Bombardier plant and its U.S. headquarters.

Bombardier announced last week it plans to invest $50-million in Wichita on a new learning centre to develop aircraft technicians and mechanics. The company, which employs more than 1,000 people in the city, said it’s part of a wider commitment “to growing the site’s capabilities and positioning it for future growth.”

Last month, Mr. Trump blasted Bombardier in a social-media post, floating the idea of a ban on its jet sales in the U.S. “Their products aren’t good enough!” Mr. Trump wrote. “If they want our Market, they must build here, and stop treating America like a ‘piggy bank.’”

In January, Mr. Trump accused Canada of unfair trade practices and said the U.S. would decertify all Canadian and Bombardier-made jets unless Transport Canada approved aircraft made by Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Gulfstream is Bombardier’s main competitor.

Transport Canada approves remaining Gulfstream models at centre of Trump’s threats

Both of Kansas’s Republican senators have voiced concerns about the President’s attacks on Bombardier, adding they’ve reached out to the White House to underscore the plane maker’s footprint in their state. Mr. Marshall said in a social-media post in September, however, that the Canadian company should expand that footprint even more.

“America buys more than half of what Bombardier sells. If that’s the market, more of those planes should be built here,” Mr. Marshall wrote on X. “I remember when my classmates’ parents worked at Learjet–later Bombardier–when it employed well over 3,000 people. Bombardier is obligated to grow that footprint in Kansas again.”

Asked why the U.S. President appears to be obsessed with Bombardier, company chief executive Éric Martel has highlighted the rivalry it has with Gulfstream and the fact that Bombardier does well in the U.S. Bombardier sells more than half of its production volume into the American market, including to wealthy individuals and corporations.

“I guess he hears about our planes all the time,” Mr. Martel told a business audience in Toronto in late September. “We’re top of mind.”

Bombardier spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The company has answered Mr. Trump’s threats in weeks past by insisting it is a strong contributor to the U.S. aerospace industry, directly employing 3,500 workers in more than 20 states, and supporting thousands more U.S. jobs through a network of 2,800 suppliers and its growing footprint in the country.

Among Bombardier’s major American suppliers are engine makers GE Aerospace and Honeywell, in addition to Parker Aerospace, Collins Aerospace and GKN.