Trump Threatens Substantial Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Denmark

"We are not treated well, as you know, by Canada," he said, complaining that Canada relies on the U.S. military and claiming Canada is subsidized by $200 billion a year.

Trump was referring to the trade deficit with Canada -- which was actually $72 billion in 2023 -- not actual subsidies.

"Something's going to have to be done," he said. "Same thing with Mexico, we have a massive deficit with Mexico."

Trump has repeatedly said Canada should become part of the U.S., and he said it again on Jan. 7.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded angrily to reporters in Canada, "How about we buy Alaska, and we'll throw in Minnesota ... at the same time?"

"We're going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada, too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers," Trump said. "So we're going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs.

"Now we want to get along with everybody, but it takes two to tango."

Trump also talked about taking Greenland from Denmark, and said he would hit Denmark with tariffs "at a very high level" if they tried to resist. Greenland is a protectorate under Denmark.

Denmark mostly exports medicines to the U.S., including Wegovy and Ozempic. (However, those drugs are also produced in the U.S. by the Danish firm that developed them.)

"We need Greenland for national security purposes. People don't even really know if Denmark has any legal right to it, but if they do, they should give it up," Trump said. He said Greenlanders would probably either vote for independence or to come into the U.S.

A reporter asked Trump if he would rule out military force to take Greenland or to take back the Panama Canal, and he said he wouldn't rule out either military force or economic coercion. "It might be that you'll have to do something," he said vaguely.

On Canada, he said he would not invade, but would use economic force to get his way. "Because Canada and the United States [combined], that would really be something," he said. "You get rid of that artificially drawn line...."

Trump complained that U.S. buyers are spending hundreds of billions a year buying Canadian goods. In 2023, the U.S. imported $421 billion worth of goods from Canada, and exported $353 billion worth of goods. More than a quarter of U.S. imports from Canada are energy products -- crude oil, gas, electricity made from hydroelectric power.

"We don't need their cars, I'd rather make them in Detroit," Trump complained. (Canada exported $13.8 billion worth of cars through November 2024 to the U.S., $19.4 billion worth of trucks and buses and $26.55 billion worth of automotive parts.)

"We don't need their lumber, we have massive fields of lumber," he said. "We don't need their dairy products. We don't need anything from them. So why are we losing $200 billion a year and more?

"Why are we supporting a country, 200-billion-plus a year, our military is at their disposal? They should be a state. We're doing it because of habit, and we're doing it because we like our neighbors, but we can't do it forever."

Trump said far less about Mexico, though as he complained they could stop migrants from crossing into the U.S., he said, "We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."

Trump also complained about the Panama Canal, saying Panama wanted $3 billion to fix it, after the U.S. lost 38,000 workers while building it, and spent the equivalent of $1 trillion in today's dollars.

"We gave it away for a dollar, but the deal was, they have to treat us fairly," he said. He claimed that the Panama Canal charges U.S. ships more than other countries' ships, and said, "China's basically taking it over. China's running the Panama Canal."