Trump's cold welcome for Canada PM Carney ahead of White House meet: ‘We don’t need anything'
Mark Carney, recently elected as Prime Minister of Canada, has also vowed to confront Trump on tariffs and trade with the United States.
US President Donald Trump declared that America does not need anything from Canada, just hours before welcoming new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to the White House on Tuesday.
Trump took to TruthSocial and said, “I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH — Why is America subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection, and many other things."
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He added, “We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain.”
He further stated that the only question on his mind ahead of the meeting was to ask Mark Carney if there was anything Canada could offer to them.
While Trump has downplayed US reliance on Canada, the neighbouring nation is a key supplier of oil, eggs and many more essential products, making border trade mutually beneficial.
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Mark Carney was recently elected as the Prime Minister of Canada, partially due to his election promise to stand up to Trump and his tariffs.
Trump and Carney met in the Oval Office for lunch, however, the US President said on Monday, that he had no idea what Carney wanted from the meeting.
“I’m not sure what he wants to see me about,” Trump said. “But I guess he wants to make a deal.”
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Carney has emphasised that he was elected to specifically “stand up” to the US president and that Canada is “in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.” He added that he expects “difficult” but “constructive” conversations with his counterpart.
Apart from trade relations between US and Canada souring, the countries also clashed after Donald Trump said he wants to make Canada the 51st state of the US.
US - Canada relations
Canada is the one of the top exporters to the U, with nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services crossing the border each day.
About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 per cent of US electricity imports are also from Canada.
However, Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 77 per cent of Canada’s exports go to the US.
Earlier this year, Trump imposed 25 per cent fentanyl related duties on Canadian goods, as well as 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy. While the US President is currently entertaining deals from countries to potentially lower tariffs on them, he has stated that Canada does not have anything to offer the US.
Canada has also hit back with a 25 per cent tariff on automotives coming from the US. However, both countries are dependent on each other for trade and neither seem to be willing to back down from tariffs.
PM Carney during his election campaign had promised that he would not compromise Canadian business interests and would match Trump on tariffs.
