With this threat, published Thursday morning on his social networks, Donald Trump contrasts with the ambivalence he posted with regard to other countries which have announced similar steps.
The Republican President said this week that he was not opposed to the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take a position on the issue of official recognition of the Palestinian State. And last week, he said that a similar decision by French President Emmanuel Macron “would change nothing”.
But Donald Trump, who heckled Canada for months and suggested that he became the 51st American state, said on Thursday that Prime Minister Mark Carney would serve as a lever before the deadline he set in the commercial negotiations.
“Wow!” Canada has just announced its support for accession to state status for Palestine, “Trump said in his publication on Truth Social.
“This will greatly complicate the conclusion of a trade agreement with them. Oh! Canada!”
— Donald Trump, President of the United States
President Trump threatened to impose customs duties of 35 % in Canada if no agreement was concluded by Friday. He promised to apply customs duties on goods from dozens of countries if they did not reach an agreement with the United States.
Certain imports from Canada are still protected by the Canada-US-Mexico (ACEUM) agreement of 2020, which is to be renegotiated next year.
Mr. Carney’s announcement on Wednesday, according to which Canada would recognize a Palestinian state in September is part of a context of overall position for Israeli policy in Gaza.
Although Mr. Trump said this week that he would not take a position on the recognition of a Palestinian state, he then said that such a decision would reward Hamas, whose attack-surgery of October 7, 2023 against Israel provoked a declaration of war and massive military reprisals by Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
Another reason …
Donald Trump’s new attack on Canada occurs after he had tried this week to impose customs duties raised in Brazil, after the latter had accused his former president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Mr. Trump who, like the American president, was prosecuted for the criminal for trying to cancel the results of his electoral defeat.
The evocation of a personal grievance in commercial negotiations with Brazil and, now, the symbolic announcement of Canada on the creation of a Palestinian State are added to the many reasons invoked by Mr. Trump to justify his trade war, such as the fight against the trafficking of human beings, the cessation of fentanyl flow, trade balance and the protection of the American manufacturing industry.