Canada ready to buy more American products to appease Trump's tariff threat, ambassador says

abcnews.go.com:

Canada’s ambassador to Washington says Canada is prepared to buy more from the United States including its next fleet of submarines to appease President-elect Donald Trump's concerns about the U.S.-Canada trade deficit

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Canada's ambassador to Washington said Monday that Canada is prepared to buy more from the United States, including its next fleet of submarines, to appease President-elect Donald Trump's concerns about the U.S.-Canada trade deficit.

Ambassador Kirsten Hillman also warned Americans in an interview with The Associated Press that prices will go up for Americans almost immediately if Trump follows through with his plan to impose 25% tariffs on all Canadian products.

The ambassador also dismissed Trump’s talk of Canada becoming the 51st U.S. state, saying that’s how Trump negotiates.

“He has a negotiating style which involves positioning himself in the best way he can for discussions. I think that is what this is,” Hillman told the AP.

Trump continues to erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada — a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil — as a subsidy.

Hillman noted Canada buys more from the United States than any other country but is prepared to buy more.

“We are happy to source what we can from the United States. And we have some big military procurements coming up for example, replacing our entire submarine fleet,” she said. “Maybe those are some purchases that can happen from the U.S.”

Hillman said 70% of Canada's military procurement is American sourced. That includes a plan to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets.

Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith said earlier Monday she favors appeasing Trump by trying to narrow the trade gap, saying