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Very hard to make trade deal with Canada: Trump on Carney's move to recognise Palestine State
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US President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025. AFP File
US President Donald Trump said it would be 'very hard' for Washington, DC, to sign a trade deal with Canada after the latter's Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he plans to recognise the state of Palestine. This was yet another threat against an American ally that came on the eve of a deadline to impose tariffs.
Prime Minister Carney on Wednesday said that Canada would recognise Palestine as a state if the Palestinian Authority commits to certain conditions, including holding elections. The move came days after France announced that it would do the same, and the United Kingdom also followed suit.
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'That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them,' Trump wrote during a social media rampage on his platform TruthSocial shortly after midnight on Thursday. Trump's comments on the matter came as he set a deadline of August 1 for countries to finish negotiating trade deals with his administration.
Canada is in rough waters with the Trump administration
Otherwise, he warned that tariffs up to 50 per cent would be imposed on the products they send to the United States. If the Trump administration goes through with its threat, from Friday, exports from Canada, the US's second-largest trading partner, would bear a 35 per cent tariff.
Since taking office in January this year, the Trump administration has often pressured the American allies to change their policies to avoid high tariffs. Recently, his threat to pull out of trade talks with Cambodia and Thailand seemed to contribute to a quick cease-fire agreement after a five-day conflict between the countries.
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On Wednesday, the president stirred yet another storm after he announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, calling it a penalty for purchasing oil and military equipment from Russia. Earlier this year, he threatened Canada with tariffs if it did not act to curb fentanyl trafficking through its border with the United States, which is minimal.
Canada's announcement followed a similar move last week by President Emmanuel Macron of France to recognise Palestine. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that Britain would recognise Palestine if Israel did not reach a cease-fire agreement on the war in Gaza by September. Apart from Carney, Trump has also dismissed Macron's announcement, saying it 'doesn't carry any weight'.
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