President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that a trade deal with Canada might be off the table after the country announced it would recognize a Palestinian state.
“Wow!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!!!”
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been renegotiating a trade agreement with the United States for months in an effort to lift heavy tariffs Trump placed on Ottawa, as additional levies are set to kick in on his country on Friday.
However, the Canadian leader’s controversial move on Wednesday to back a Palestinian state put it at further odds with the U.S., which favors Israel’s view that “recognizing a Palestinian state while 50 hostages remain trapped in Hamas tunnels amounts to rewarding terrorism.”
As negotiations have taken place over the past few months, there has been back-and-forth in the trade talks between Carney and Trump.
Trump imposed a 25% tariff on all Canadian steel and aluminum imports and increased the rate to 50% in June, leading Carney to retaliate with a 25% countertariff.
Trade talks briefly halted in late June when Canada announced it would maintain its digital service taxes on U.S. companies. Trump promptly responded by cutting off trade talks. Three days later, on June 30, trade talks resumed when Canada pulled the digital services tax plan to appease the president.
Trump has also revealed plans to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Those tariffs were set to kick in on July 9, but the president later extended the deadline to Aug. 1.
Earlier this month, Canada revealed it was delaying its plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. after Trump extended the deadline to August to negotiate a new trade deal he believes will be more favorable to the U.S.
Although the two countries appeared to be nearing a trade deal, Canada’s move this week to back a Palestinian state could put the progress at risk.
The Trump administration has come out strongly against recognizing a Palestinian state, with the State Department announcing this week it would not participate in an initiative from France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations supporting a two-state solution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
The U.N. two-state solution conference is an “ill-advised stunt that will further embolden Hamas and undermine our serious diplomatic efforts to end the war,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
CARNEY ANNOUNCES CANADA TO RECOGNIZE A PALESTINIAN STATE DESPITE US OPPOSITION
Speaking about France’s move to support a Palestinian state, Secretary of State Marco Rubio labeled it a “reckless decision [that] only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace.”
“It is a slap in the face to the victims of Oct. 7,” he said.
Trump argued on Thursday morning that the best way to resolve the Gaza crisis is for Hamas to release the remaining hostages the terrorist group abducted during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” he wrote in a message to Truth Social.