US President Donald Trump says it is “highly unlikely” that the United States one day resorted to military force to annex Canada, while saying that it will continue to put pressure for Canada to become the 51st state.
In a large -scale interview broadcast on Sunday on the program “Meet The PressOn NBC, Trump said that he did not exclude such a possibility for Greenland, but that he was not planning it for Canada.
“I think we will never get there,” he said.
“Something could happen with Greenland. Honestly, we need it for national and international security, he said. But I think it’s highly improbable … I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I must be honest with you. ”
These remarks arise as Prime Minister Mark Carney is to meet President Trump for the first time in person this week in Washington. The trade war between the two countries will be the main subject of discussion.
On Sunday, President Trump described Mr. Carney “very good man” and congratulated the Prime Minister for his electoral victory during their telephone call last week.
“There is no majority or anything else, which will make things a little more difficult, I think, so that he can lead,” said Trump. But he nevertheless won a victory and he is a very good man, I think. ”
The Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (ACEUM) was negotiated under the first Trump administration. At the time, President Trump called him a better agreement ever concluded, and Canadian officials said it as a victory for Canada.
ACEUM was to be revised next year, but after Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, it quickly became obvious that the president intended to undermine the continental trade agreement.
-Canada and Mexico were struck very early by customs duties that the president attributed to the flow of fentanyl and people crossing their borders. US government data shows that a small volume of fentanyl is intercepted at the Canadian-American border. The two countries were also affected by the customs duties imposed by President Trump on steel, aluminum and automobile.
On Friday, during a press conference in Ottawa, Carney argued that he would endeavor to obtain the best possible agreement for Canada.
Questioned by Kristen Welker, host of “Meet the Press“, On the possibility for Trump to discuss with Mr. Carney the possibility of becoming the 51st state, Trump replied that he would always talk about it.
“Do you know why?” We subsidize Canada up to $ 200 billion per year, “said Trump. The United States’s trade deficit with Canada was more of $ 63.3 billion in 2024, according to the US trade office.
According to the American representative on trade, the United States imported $ 412.7 billion in Canadian goods in 2024. The majority of Canadian exports to the United States were made up of energy and minerals.
“We don’t need their cars, their lasting wood, their energy, nothing at all. We do very little business with Canada. They do practically all their belongings with us, ”said Trump.
According to data from the United States census office, the United States imported more property from Mexico and China than in Canada in 2024.
Canada represented 12.6% of all American imports. On the other hand, Canada exported 75.9% of its goods to the United States.
