US aviation unions shared concerns about potential disruptions to aviation after the Trump administration announced it planned to implement tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
These tariffs were initially implemented on February 1, 2025, in order to “halt illegal immigration and stop poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into the US.” On February 3, 2025, US President Donald Trump revealed he would delay the 25% tariffs on imports from these countries for one month.
After the announcement, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) released a statement saying that disruptions to business aviation could have “profound consequences, and workarounds that meet the exacting regulatory requirements take months or years to establish.”
According to the NBAA, business aviation is a “powerful driver” of the US economy, supporting over a million jobs and contributing nearly $250 billion in economic development.
“Critical to this essential industry is a complex, highly regulated global supply chain, supported by a number of bilateral agreements that are required to meet stringent safety standards, while ensuring the reliable flow of highly specialized goods,” the NBAA statement read.
The NBAA expressed concerns that the tariffs could “disrupt the industry’s unique supply chain, and the jobs, economic growth, manufacturing leadership and innovative edge that depend on it.”
“We welcome the administration’s decision to pause the tariffs on Canada and Mexico, so that their implications can be fully understood,” the NBAA said. “Equally important, we look forward to working with the administration on policies that foster the growth of industries, including business aviation.”
On the same day Brian Bryant, International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), said in a statement that “the IAM Union is relieved that destructive tariffs between [the US and Canada] are being paused.”
“For decades, we have seen millions of good-paying, high-skilled US and Canadian jobs outsourced to countries with little to no labor rights,” Bryant said. “Thanks to bad trade deals, tens of thousands of good IAM Union aerospace and defense jobs have become low-wage jobs in Mexico, while China has used forced technology offsets to create its own aerospace industry. This race-to-the-bottom model is being replicated by other bad actors across the globe – and it’s hurting all workers, as well as our shared national security.”
