Customs duties: Donald Trump denies any interference in the affairs of French-speaking Canadians
The American president denied, Tuesday, August 25, any interference in the affairs of French-speaking Canadians, while Ottawa accused Washington of wanting to attack the status of the French language in trade negotiations between the two neighbors.
“I would never interfere in the affairs of French-speaking Canadians”assured Donald Trump, denouncing, on his Truth Social network, a ” lie “ of Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. The Republican billionaire virulently rejected these accusations: “Actually, I never even thought about doing such a stupid thing.”he wrote.
The American president has stepped up trade offensives since his return to the White House in early 2025, accusing Canada in particular of abusing American generosity on the commercial and military levels.
Three days after Mark Carney broke off trade talks, Donald Trump announced new surcharges on Monday. From 1er January 2027, “all cars, trucks, large and small, auto parts and steel will see their taxes increased to 50%”he detailed on Truth Social.
Renaming Lake Ontario
These new measures would particularly target Ontario, where a significant part of Canada’s steel and automobile activities are concentrated. Earlier on Tuesday, Donald Trump threatened to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America.” “The United States is seriously considering changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, because we no longer expect to do much trade with Ontario”he wrote. Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes of North America, is shared between the United States and Canada.
Canadian ministers of finance, industry and labor are due to detail Ottawa’s response to the new US surcharges on Tuesday.
Mark Carney insisted on Monday that his country would not accept a trade agreement with the United States “at any price”. “For more than a year, Canada has worked tirelessly and in good faith with the United States to negotiate a new comprehensive trade agreement”declared the Prime Minister, stressing that the country had strengthened its other commercial partnerships, particularly in Asia and with the European Union.
The United States is, by far, Canada’s largest trading partner, with Canadian exports to this country currently representing around 70% of the total.
