Donald Trump: Canada and Mexico must join the US to continue receiving aid from their neighbour
According to President-elect Donald Trump, Canada and Mexico should join the US if they want to keep getting aid from their neighbor.
If Canada and Mexico don’t stop sending drugs and migrants to the United States, Trump has threatened to levy a 25 percent tax on their goods. In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday, he justified his tariff idea by pointing out that the United States subsidizes Canada and Mexico for around $100 billion and almost $300 billion yearly, respectively.
“Canada is receiving nearly $100 billion in subsidies annually from us. Mexico is receiving about $300 billion in subsidies from us. Why are we giving these nations subsidies when we shouldn’t be? “Let them become a state if we’re going to provide them with subsidies,” Trump said. “We are providing subsidies to Canada and Mexico, as well as several other nations worldwide. All I want is a fair, quick, and equal playing field.
While inflating the figures, he seems to be alluding to the U.S. trade imbalance between the two nations. In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the goods and services trade imbalance was over $162 billion with Mexico and close to $41 billion with Canada.
The president-elect had said something similar about Canada. According to reports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned the president-elect that the tariff measures would destroy Canada’s economy when they met on November 29 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “Maybe Canada should become the 51st state” is what the Republican allegedly stated in jest in response.
Outside of usual business hours, Newsweek sent an email requesting response from the Mexican president’s office and the Trump transition team.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed into law during his first term in office, now provides the three nations with a mostly duty-free relationship.
The proposed 25 percent tariffs may have a substantial effect on the three nations’ commercial ties and might increase the cost of products in the United States.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Trump said in response to Kristen Welker of Meet the Press when she asked whether he could ensure that his tariff proposals wouldn’t result in higher costs for American households. Tomorrow is not certain.
However, if you look at my—just before COVID—we had the best economy in our nation’s history. He said, “I had a lot of tariffs on a lot of other nations, especially China.
In a post on Truth Social on November 25, Trump also threatened to impose a 10 percent tax on China “above any additional tariffs” unless Beijing addressed the fentanyl smuggling problem.
“Tariffs, if properly used, are a very powerful tool, not only economically but also for achieving other objectives outside of economics,” Trump said on Meet the Press.
Trump has chastised Canada and Mexico for their border restrictions, and the tariff threats have also triggered a verbal spat between the two nations.
The problems of illegal crossings and drug smuggling in Canada are quite different from those in Mexico, Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador in Washington, told The Associated Press in early December.
In 2024, U.S. customs officers captured around 21,100 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border, while they seized far less at the Canadian border. In October alone, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested 56,530 people along the Mexican border for illegal immigration. Between October of 2023 and September of 2024, 23,721 people were arrested at the Canadian border.
“The facts are hard to deny,” said Hillman.
Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the president of Mexico, responded to AP by saying, “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners.” She had said that there “will be no potential tariff war” between the United States and Mexico on November 28, after speaking with Trump over the phone.
