Canada: We are ready to respond to Trump's tariff threats
Canada's foreign minister has said the country is prepared to respond to any move by Washington to impose new tariffs on Canada. The Canadian foreign minister made the remarks just days before US President-elect Donald Trump officially takes office in the White House.
Canada's foreign minister has said the country is prepared to respond to any move by Washington to impose new tariffs on Canada. The Canadian foreign minister made the remarks just days before US President-elect Donald Trump officially takes office in the White House.
Minister Mélanie Joly said: Considering that 75 percent of Canadian goods are sold in the United States, increasing tariffs on those goods could cause economic losses for the country.
Joly added: "We are ready and prepared for the second and third rounds if the US President takes office on Monday."
Canadian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson also confirmed Thursday that his country could impose export tariffs on key minerals.
Another reliable source also reported last Wednesday that: If Trump carries out his threat to increase tariffs on goods imported from Canada, the country will quickly take action against a small group of goods imported from the United States, including orange juice from Florida, where Trump lives.
After US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his claims to annex Canada, Panama and Greenland, and his actions, including sending his son to Greenland to prepare the conditions for the annexation, those countries have issued strong responses to Trump's actions.
Donald Trump, who will take office in the United States on January 20, 2025, has shown that he is willing to implement policies of invading and occupying the lands of other countries without regard to international law and regulations.
In a press conference Tuesday before his inauguration for a second term, Trump reiterated his criticism of former US President Jimmy Carter, and did not rule out the possibility of using military force to control the Panama Canal and seize Greenland. Last Tuesday, Trump again criticized the 1977 agreement brokered by former US President Jimmy Carter that led to the transfer of control of the canal to Panama in 1999. He has also discussed his plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico "Gulf of the United States," citing immigration issues as a major reason for the dramatic change. Shortly before Christmas, Trump also said that "for the sake of national security and global freedom, the United States believes it is absolutely necessary to acquire and control Greenland."
In 2019 during his first term in office, Trump discussed buying the Arctic territory owned by Denmark, calling it a "major real estate transaction" with "strategic importance." The remarks sparked a diplomatic row between the United States and NATO member Denmark.
Last Monday, shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned, Donald Trump reiterated his call for Canada to join the United States. After winning the presidential election in November 2024, Trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico. He wrote on his social media account, Truth Social, on Monday: "Many in Canada would like to be the 51st state of the United States."
Responding to US President-elect Donald Trump's remarks about her country, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said: "We will not back down in the face of threats." Mélanie Joly wrote on the X social media platform: "Trump's remarks show a lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong and our people are strong. We will not back down in the face of threats."
On the other hand, Denmark has also responded harshly to Trump's remarks about wanting to annex Greenland to the United States. After US President-elect Donald Trump expressed his intention to annex Greenland and annex it to the United States, his eldest son Donald Trump arrived on the island on his father's private plane.
Trump said last month that U.S. control of Greenland was "absolutely necessary." He wrote on social media that Greenland would return to its former glory. "Greenland is a beautiful place and if it were to become part of our country, its people would benefit greatly," Trump said.
Speaking about Donald Trump's son's visit to Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has declared that the territory is not for sale. Frederiksen said on Tuesday that Greenland's Prime Minister, Múte Egede, had made it very clear that there is overwhelming support among the people that Greenland is not for sale and will not be sold in the future.
The Danish Prime Minister's remarks came after Trump proposed buying Greenland from Denmark and called the US purchase of the Arctic region an "absolute necessity."
Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha also responded to threats by US President-elect Donald Trump that the US would regain control of the Panama Canal, insisting that his country's sovereignty is "non-negotiable." He has rejected any talks with Trump on the Panama Canal, saying: "There is nothing to discuss." He has insisted: "The Panama Canal has returned to Panama and will never leave its hands again."
Trump's positions on the annexation of Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal have once again revealed to the world the true attitude of the United States towards other countries, which is a self-centered and imperialist attitude. In the 21st century, and despite the great changes witnessed on the international level, the United States still has the imperialist attitude of the 19th and 20th centuries towards other countries and wants to annex three important countries and territories such as Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal, according to its goals and interests, regardless of international law.
