(Washington) United States President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would not use military force to achieve the annexation of Canada, saying he would instead rely on “economic force.”
Posted at 1:29 p.m.
During his first press conference since the certification of his electoral victory, Mr. Trump also reiterated that he will impose substantial customs tariffs on Canada and Mexico when he returns to the White House in less than two weeks.
The president-elect had already announced that he would impose 25% tariffs on the United States’ neighbors unless Canada and Mexico could stem “the flow of illegal drugs across the border.”
Already last November, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Mr. Trump’s property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to try to appease these threats of customs tariffs.
Canada then announced a series of measures to strengthen the border, with a $1.3 billion package, but Mr. Trump indicated he still intended to implement his tariff plan.
During his press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, the president-elect also criticized Canada’s military funding and claimed that Canada was subsidized by the United States.
The president-elect also recalled that he had suggested hockey legend Wayne Gretzky run for prime minister.
On Monday, after the announcement of Mr. Trudeau’s upcoming departure, Mr. Trump argued that the prime minister was resigning because he knew the United States would not tolerate trade deficits with Canada. He also estimated that many Canadians “would love” for Canada to become the 51e American state.
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