January 8, 2025 11:15am IST
Donald Trump said the United States protects Canada, faces a trade deficit, does not receive cars or agricultural products from Canada, and has no intention of receiving any in return.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed using “economic muscle” to pressure Canada to become the 51st state, citing concerns about U.S. military aid and trade imbalances. He reiterated his intention to impose “significant” tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico.
Donald Trump cited concerns about U.S. military aid and the trade deficit with its northern neighbor, adding that the U.S. absorbing Canada “would really be something.”
“We’ve been good neighbors, but we can’t do that forever,” Trump said.
Asked if he could rule out a military conflict to secure U.S. control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, Donald Trump said: “Not at all.”
“I can’t guarantee either of those things, but I can tell you this: We need them for our economic security,” Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
In response to President Trump’s proposal, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote in X magazine that “the chances of Canada becoming part of the United States are not snowballing.”
President Trump hints at pressure on Canada to comply with US demands
Donald Trump has said he will use “economic power” to pressure Canada to become the 51st U.S. state, an idea he has mentioned several times in recent days. Trump argued that the United States subsidizes Canada so it could do without Canadian products such as cars and milk. “Canada, don’t let us take away their products too, whether it’s our cars or our crops or whatever.” We’re basically defending Canada. We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year protecting Canada. During the press conference, the president-elect criticized Mexico, accusing the country of exploiting the United States in trade and suffering from serious problems, particularly violence related to drug cartels. “We are working with Mexico, where we have huge deficits,” and we are supporting Mexico a lot. “They are essentially run by cartels and we cannot tolerate that,” Trump said, adding, “Mexico is in real trouble, has a lot of problems, and is very dangerous. location and we will announce future dates.” President Trump has vowed to take a tougher stance on Mexico and Canada in his second term, threatening to impose new tariffs on them. Do more to stop the flow of immigrants and illegal drugs across the U.S. border.
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