Trump says ‘we don’t need’ Canada’s oil and gas
U.S. President Donald Trump took another swipe at Canada on Thursday, calling the long-standing ally “tough to deal with” and claiming the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian oil and gas.
Speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump also said he will press NATO members to increase their defence spending target to five per cent of GDP — more than triple Canada’s current spending.
Trump said his administration would be “demanding respect from other nations” that trade with the U.S. and quickly brought up his escalating feud with Canada.
“We don’t need them to make our cars, and they make a lot of them. We don’t need their lumber because we have our own forests. We don’t need their oil and gas. We have more than anybody.”
Trump also returned to his oft-repeated idea to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.
“As you probably know, I say you can always become a state,” he said. “Then if you’re a state, we won’t have a deficit, we won’t have to tariff you, et cetera, et cetera.”
Trump has previously threatened to use “economic force” to compel a merger with Canada, arguing earlier this month that the U.S. doesn’t “need” highly traded items like automobiles, lumber and dairy from Canada — despite the highly integrated supply chains solidified by the free trade pact that was renegotiated during his first term.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emphasized the importance of that trade relationship to reporters while entering Thursday’s Liberal caucus meeting.
“Donald Trump has announced he wants a ‘golden age’ for the American economy,” Trudeau said. “That means they’re going to need more energy, more minerals, more steel and aluminum, more lumber, more concrete, more of the things that Canada is already sending them
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