Trump says Canada should become US state to preserve auto industry

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Canada should become a U.S. state to keep its carmakers, according to sb.by.

According to TASS, in an interview with WABC radio, Donald Trump said:

Canada has been ripping us off for years. These are the people who are the hardest to deal with. They think they have the right to do so. They should be a state.

The US president added:

- If they were a state, there would be no problem. I would let the car companies stay there. But we take away many of them because I have imposed tariffs on them.

At the end of August, he suggested that Canadian companies that do business in the U.S. move their business to the U.S. to avoid tariffs. Trump has repeatedly talked about the possible entry of Canada into the United States.

In August, U.S. trade negotiator Jamison Greer said Ottawa had abandoned what Washington believed was a bilateral trade deal. In response, on August 22, US 50 percent import duties on certain categories of Canadian goods came into force.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed he has suspended trade talks with the United States. He said Ottawa would impose retaliatory tariffs against Washington. Carney stressed that a “trade war” has begun between the countries. He said it was initiated by Washington.

Trump then announced plans to impose 50 percent tariffs on Canadian cars, auto parts and steel from January 1, 2027. On September 8, Ottawa’s retaliatory tariffs on American products came into effect. Trump called the Prime Minister of Canada the Governor of the United States