Transport Canada certifies Gulfstream G700 and G800 jets after Trump spat

By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson

MONTREAL/WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Transport Canada has approved two large-cabin Gulfstream business jets weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened action against Canada's aircraft sector, saying its regulator was taking too long to certify the U.S.-made planes.

Transport Canada certified the Gulfstream Aerospace flagship G700 and G800 aircraft, according to a government document issued on Monday. Reuters first reported the company's smaller, shorter-range G500 and G600 planes were certified on February 15.

Last month, Trump said in a social media post that Canada was taking too long to certify the aircraft. He threatened to retaliate by decertifying Canadian-made Bombardier BBDb.TO Global Express business jets and by instituting 50% import tariffs on all aircraft made in Canada. Gulfstream is a subsidiary of U.S.-based General Dynamics GD.N.

The threat was one of a series of provocations aimed at Canada by President Trump since he retook office in January of last year. Trump has also threatened to annex Canada, and he most recently said he would bar a new Canadian-financed bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario from opening.

It is not entirely clear why Trump was focused on the certification issue, as the Gulfstreams have already been certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, and do not need Canadian certification to fly there. Under global aviation rules, the country where an aircraft is designed is responsible for vouching for an aircraft's safety. Other countries typically validate the decision of the primary regulator.

“The President was clear: fair trade matters in every sector, including aviation," said U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Nate Sizemore on Tuesday.

The incident raised alarm among aviation experts who argued planes should be certified for safety reasons, free from political influence.

"I'd just rather keep politics and aviation safety separate," said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of U.S. aerospace consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has criticized Trump's use of tariff threats as a negotiating tactic, declaring in a January speech in Davos, Switzerland that other nations must accept that the U.S.-led rules-based global order had ended. He traveled to China earlier that month to hammer out a trade deal with the U.S. rival.

A Gulfstream spokesperson said the private jet maker is working with the FAA and Transport Canada, and is "optimistic that progress is being made."

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told reporters in Ottawa that the regulator's approval was not the result of pressure from the Trump administration.

"There were applications in," he said of requests to certify the Gulfstream aircraft. "They were at various stages."