During his meeting with Mark Carney, Donald Trump minimized the importance of trade relations between Canada and the United States. He said that his country does not “do not do much” with his neighbor. That’s wrong.
A little context
Tuesday, Donald Trump wanted to take advantage of his first official meeting with the new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, to convince his interlocutor-but also his voters-from the merits of the trade war that he triggered against his main economic partner on March 4.
The President has a lot to do in this case: 70% of the American population is of the opinion that customs duties will lead to an increase in inflation in the United States, reveal the most recent polls on the issue, published at the end of April.
More generally, more than half of Americans (52%) have an unfavorable opinion of Donald Trump just over 100 days after the start of his second term, according to a national Economist/Yougov survey carried out last week.
The negative effects of American prices are already felt in the south of the border: exports of Canadian goods to the United States fell 6.6% in March, when the first customs duties were imposed.
The United States’s trade deficit has reached a summit at US $ 140.5 billion in the same month. This means that the United States has bought many more property from Canada and its other partners than the reverse. Donald Trump, however, repeats that his customs prices aim to reduce the trade deficit.
Lying: the United States does not “do not have much business with Canada”
Donald Trump has argued that the United States does not need Canada to prosper. He said that American exports to its Nordic neighbor are negligible.
“From our point of view, we do not do much business with Canada. They do a lot of business with us. We are about 4% [de toutes nos exportations]”He said.
The facts
The 4% figure advanced by the president is false.
Official American data shows that Canada bought approximately 17% of goods exported by the United States in February and March. It is more than any other country in the world, therefore making Canada the main customer of the United States.
In January, around 16% of American goods exports were sent to Canada.
Mexico bought a little more American goods than us that month.
Canadian-American trade statistics also show that Canada bought around $ 440 billion in goods and services in the United States in 2024. It is once again than any other country that year.
The office of the American representative in the trade, moreover, confirms this: “In 2024, Canada was the first destination for American exports” as well as “the third greatest source of American imports”, can be read in a note published on its website.
Donald Trump has multiplied lies at a frantic pace since returning to the White House. To help you decide between the true of the forgery, our reporter Gabriel Ouimet dissects each week of the president’s deceptive claims as part of his series “The Lies Detector”.
