“Aerospace is an international business—it always has been and always will be,” Daher Aircraft CEO Nicolas Chabbert told AIN yesterday at the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo when asked about the start of widespread U.S. tariffs. “The global aerospace industry has created enormous wealth in the U.S.”

He believes the tariffs will negatively “shape” the U.S. and global economies and, by default, the business aviation market. According to Chabbert, potential aircraft buyers are mostly sitting on the sidelines right now because of uncertainty created by rapidly shifting U.S. policies. “Not one prospect will accept an increase in price. And no investor today will want to be in aerospace given the environment,” he added.

Chabbert acknowledged that the tariffs will hit harder on its TBM line—which now is just the Model 960, because it recently dropped the TBM 910 from its product lineup—since these aircraft are manufactured in Tarbes, France. However, he pointed out that its Sandpoint, Idaho-produced Kodiak 100 Series III and 900 turboprop singles also could be exposed due to their Canada-made Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines. “We just don’t know how the tariffs are going to be applied,” Chabbert lamented.

Meanwhile, the company is progressing on plans announced in 2023 to stand up a TBM and Kodiak co-production final assembly facility in Stuart, Florida, by the end of 2026. “We’re not doing this because of tariffs. We’re doing it because it is fundamental to our business—we want to have growth closer to our customers,” Chabbert said, noting that about 70% of Daher Aircraft’s sales are to U.S. clients. “But we can’t expedite this. It’s a long-term investment for Daher, and we’re committed to the project, which will create more jobs in the U.S.”

Asked for his outlook on 2025, Chabbert said, “I’m neither not sure nor sure about what will happen in 2025. I’m an optimistic kind of guy. I like to look for opportunities and will pursue any that make sense.” He is bullish on growth for Daher Aircraft in Brazil, saying, “This is definitely a market we want to explore more.”

Chabbert added that Daher has had three years of “fantastic” aircraft sales and a solid backlog, insulating the company for the near-term.