President Donald Trump said Thursday that Canada’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood could jeopardize a future trade deal between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.
“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump’s tariff deadline is August 1 and the U.S. has yet to reach a trade deal with Canada. Earlier this month, Trump threatened a 35 percent tariff on Canada, without going into specifics. The U.S. could increase tariffs on Canadian imports from 25 percent to 35 percent with exemptions for goods covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement negotiated during Trump’s first term.
Canada is one of the U.S.’s largest trading partners and a longstanding U.S. ally. New tariffs could severely damage the Canadian manufacturing sector and its economy as a whole because of its reliance on exports.
In recent days, Trump has announced trade deals with the European Union, South Korea, and other U.S. allies ahead of the tariff deadline. All of those trade deals have featured massive foreign investment deals and opened up markets to the U.S. without necessarily eliminating U.S. tariffs.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday Canada’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood at the upcoming United Nations general assembly session in September. His move is contingent on the Palestinian Authority holding elections without Hamas’s interference and demilitarizing the area. Those conditions are unlikely to be met anytime soon even if Israel and Hamas’s war in Gaza is halted.
Canada is one of several western nations in recent days to recognize Palestinian statehood in protest of how Israel is handling the humanitarian situation in Gaza. French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week his plan to recognize a Palestinian state and the United Kingdom soon followed suit.
Trump said Thursday morning that the humanitarian problems in Gaza could be solved if Hamas agrees to a cease-fire and frees the remaining hostages in its captivity. The U.S. ended cease-fire talks and brought negotiators back from Qatar last week after accusing Hamas of not acting in good faith to get a deal done. U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel Thursday as concerns mount over starvation deaths in Gaza.
Trump said earlier this week he believes starvation is happening in Gaza and criticized Hamas for stealing vital food aid. But, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denied that his comments represented a break from Netanyahu, who has been a close ally of Trump’s for the entirety of Trump’s political career.