The head of Canadian jet manufacturer Bombardier Inc. raised concerns about Canada’s decision to review a contract to buy dozens of F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin Corp., the country’s latest response to the trade war with the US.

“Canceling the F-35s might be a good idea, but we need to think about it,” Bombardier Chief Executive Officer Eric Martel told a business audience in Montreal. “We have contracts with the Pentagon. Will there be reciprocity there?” 

Bombardier has invested in recent years in its defense unit, which converts jets into military aircraft. It has two contracts with the US government, one for communication aircraft and another for surveillance planes.

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered a review of the F-35 purchase agreement, a C$19 billion ($13.3 billion) deal for 88 jets that was finalized in 2023. The deal hasn’t been scrapped, but the government needs to “make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces,” a defense ministry spokesperson said. 

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump put 25% tariffs on imports on Canadian goods that don’t fall under the US–Mexico–Canada Agreement, and added 25% import taxes to aluminum and steel products. He has repeatedly said he believes Canada should be the 51st US state — a recent poll showed that 90% of Canadians disagree — and members of his administration have taken the Canadian government to task for its low level of military spending. 

“Trump isn’t wrong on everything,” Martel said. “We’ve been hiding behind our big brother for a while, and we’re completely dependent on him militarily.”

In 2023, Canada finalized a deal to order as many as 16 military surveillance aircraft from Boeing Co. as part of an investment worth more than $7 billion, rejecting a competing Bombardier proposal.

The jet maker’s shares have dropped 18% since Trump was elected on Nov. 5, but are still up about 50% over the past year. 

In February, Bombardier set aside its financial outlook for the year because of risk and uncertainty about tariffs. “Not providing guidance is the most responsible thing for us to do,” Martel said at the time. About 60% of Bombardier’s business comes from the US, and its planes are currently built and shipped under the rules of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. 

Bombardier has a complicated supply chain that includes manufacturing in US and Mexico with more than 2,800 US-based suppliers across 47 states. US-made parts and systems make up a significant proportion of the cost of its aircraft. 

The Global 7500, the firm’s flagship jet, has wings made in Texas, avionics from Iowa and motors made in Indiana. More than half of its building costs are tied to US manufacturing, but the assembly and finishing are done in Canada, which makes the jet subject to tariffs.

Two-thirds of Canada’s aerospace industry exports depend on the US market, Martel said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As a wounded Democratic Party struggles to regroup, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is holding mostly chummy conversations with prominent conservatives on a new podcast he’s touting as a way for the party to grapple with the MAGA movement’s popularity.

In doing so, he appears intent on showing he is more than a progressive warrior. But he has stunned some members of his own party by agreeing with his guests on issues such as restricting transgender women and girls in sports. Newsom called dismantling police departments “lunacy” and remained silent when Steve Bannon, an architect of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, falsely said Trump won the 2020 presidential election.

The programs provide a fresh lens on a liberal governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate who not long ago was enlisted as a chief surrogate for President Joe Biden’s campaign. Ahead of the 2022 midterms, he chastised national Democrats for being too passive in defending abortion rights and same-sex marriage, an issue he championed two decades ago as mayor of San Francisco.

Newsom said his choice of podcast guests reflects his interest in knowing more about how Republicans organized in the last election, when Trump swept every battleground state and Republicans locked up majorities in the House and Senate.

“I think we all agreed after the last election that it’s important for Democrats to explore new and unique ways of talking to people,” he added in an email to supporters.

Newsom’s party criticizes his guests

After spotlighting Bannon, conservative radio personality Michael Savage and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Newsom will quickly diversify his lineup: His next guest is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, last year’s Democratic vice presidential nominee. But some Democrats say the governor, who is widely viewed as having presidential ambitions, is selling out Democratic values in favor of his own political aspirations.

Aimee Allison, the founder and president of She the People, a national organizing hub for electing women of color, said Newsom is betraying California and “showing his weakness and naked ambition.” Allison was among Democrats who helped Newsom defeat a 2021 recall attempt.

“We need a governor that will defend California’s values, support vulnerable children, LGBTQ+ people, Black people, women, and everyone else who’s in the line (of) fire of the Trump administration. Instead he is making the worst moves possible in a time of rising fascism. He’s trying to remake himself to be acceptable to MAGA,” Allison wrote in an email, referring to supporters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.

California Assembly member Chris Ward and state Sen. Carolina Menjivar, who lead the state’s LGBTQ+ legislative caucus, said they were “profoundly sickened” by Newsom’s statement on transgender athletes. And Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, another potential 2028 candidate, said of Bannon, “I don’t think we should give him oxygen on any platform — ever, anywhere.”

Finding a new audience

Podcasts have become an increasingly important venue in politics, and as Newsom considers a national campaign he has been praised by some for venturing into unfamiliar territory.

Democratic consultant Bill Burton, who was national press secretary for former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, credited Newsom with trying to reach voters who might not engage with traditional media.

“I think there are going to be a lot of people this alienates in the short term,” Burton said. But, he added, Democrats “have to take a lot of big swings.”

The governor — who called Trump a threat to American democracy throughout last year’s campaign — has been trying to navigate a tenuous relationship with the White House as the state recovers from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January. He’s requested $40 billion in federal aid.

Newsom, while progressive, has never been locked into one ideological position: He’s broken at times with more liberal factions in the Legislature. His shift this time may be to head off the kind of criticism Republicans have aimed at former Vice President Kamala Harris, also of California, or edge toward positions more closely in line with public opinion. According to AP VoteCast, 55% of voters nationwide in the 2024 election said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.

During the podcast episodes released so far, Newsom has been mostly affable and agreeable, though he’s challenged his guests at times. This is not the tart-tongued Newsom who appeared in a 2023 televised debate with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom he described as weak and pathetic, or who called the state legislature into special session last year to attempt to safeguard the state’s progressive policies under a Trump administration.

In an age of rigid partisanship, talking with the other side is “so rarely a part of public discourse it seems like either bravery or lunacy,” said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego. “While there are clear risks, he is trying to align his national reputation … in a slightly unpredictable middle.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Turkey is planning new rules to rein in the dominance of major tech firms, imitating the European Union’s regulatory approach at the risk of provoking U.S. retaliation.

The bill, set to be submitted to parliament soon, would prevent technology companies such as Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. from favoring their own services in search engines, app stores, or marketplaces, senior Turkish officials told Bloomberg. The bill is backed by the ruling party and was prepared in collaboration with Turkey’s antitrust authority.

Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual revenue, added the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. 

The move comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and the European Union over digital regulations. The EU’s Digital Markets Act or DMA, enacted in May 2023, aims to curb anti-competitive practices by imposing obligations on “gatekeeper” platforms. Turkey’s proposal aligns with the EU’s approach and could risk straining the nation’s trade ties with Washington. 

US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized the EU’s DMA, calling it “overseas extortion” targeting American tech firms. In response, he has threatened to impose tariffs. 

Under the proposal, closed ecosystems like Apple’s would be required to let users install third-party apps from outside of their platforms, the officials said. In Apple’s case, this means allowing downloads to iPhones and iPads from outside of the App Store, similar to how Google allows sideloading on Android devices. 

It would also restrict platforms from processing user data without explicit consent and limit how they use that data for commercial purposes. 

Additionally, tech firms would be required to provide commercial users — such as app developers, advertisers and marketplace sellers — with clear information on service scope, performance, and pricing. 

The proposal is still subject to revisions before being enacted, and its final provisions could change during the legislative process. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com