President Donald Trump has threatened to stall trade talks with Canada late Wednesday night after Canada’s move to recognize a Palestinian state.
Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at a press conference on Wednesday that America’s northern neighbor was planning to recognize a Palestinian state in September’s United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The president took to Truth Social on Wednesday night to respond to the Canadian leader’s announcement.
“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!” the president wrote on the social media platform.
Canada’s latest move comes after similar statements made by the leaders of France and the United Kingdom, both key allies of the United States. On July 24, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that he has decided to recognize the State of Palestine while also calling for the demilitarization of Hamas.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that the UK “will recognize the State of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza.”
On his way back to the U.S. from Scotland, Trump told reporters on Tuesday that recognizing Palestinian statehood could amount to “rewarding Hamas.”
With an Aug. 1 tariff deadline soon approaching, Trump has recently secured major trade agreements with countries including South Korea and Japan. However, negotiations between Canada and the U.S. have been held up and no framework has been established so far.
If Canada does not make a deal with the U.S. by Friday, Trump is set to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods that are not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
