Trump Defends Tariffs On Canada: ‘We Don’t Need Them For Anything’

President Donald Trump defended his decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canada, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that the U.S. doesn’t “need” Canadian exports.

The White House announced on Saturday that Canada, Mexico, and China would all be hit with tariffs to “hold” the countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.” On Monday, Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum negotiated a deal to pause the tariff on Mexico for one month in return for Sheinbaum sending 10,000 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump is also set to talk with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday afternoon.

During a Q&A with reporters inside the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his desire to see “Canada become the 51st state.”

“We give them protection, military protection. We don’t need them to build our cars. I’d rather see Detroit or South Carolina or Tennessee, any one of our states build the cars. They could do it very easily,” Trump said. “We don’t need [Canada] for the cars. We don’t need them for lumber. We don’t need them for anything. We don’t need them for energy. We have more energy than they do.”

“Why are we willing to lose between a hundred billion and two hundred billion dollars a year?” Trump asked. “We don’t need them. As a state, it’s different.”

President @realDonaldTrump on wanting Canada to become the 51st state: pic.twitter.com/Jr6XxPczsu

— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) February 3, 2025

Trump’s tariffs on Canada will hit products exported to the U.S. with a 25% tariff, while energy exports “will have a lower 10% tariff,” according to a White House fact sheet. The tariffs will likely be felt more heavily by Canadians than by Americans since the U.S. represents 80% of Canada’s exports while only around one-third of American exports go to Canada and Mexico, The Daily Wire previously reported.

The president stated that the tariffs on America’s biggest trade partners are being used for “leverage” in the interest of national security. Trump has called on China, Canada, and Mexico to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across U.S. borders.

“Access to the American market is a privilege. The United States has one of the most open economies in the world, and the lowest average tariff rates in the world,” the White House stated, adding, “Tariffs are a powerful, proven source of leverage for protecting the national interest. President Trump is using the tools at hand and taking decisive action that puts Americans’ safety and our national security first.”

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged on Saturday that the tariffs will make the “coming weeks … difficult for Canadians,” adding that they will also be “difficult for Americans.”

“The level of cooperation, the level of effective partnerships between our two countries that have been established over decades and generations means that this trade action by the Americans and our response is going to have real consequences,” Trudeau said.

Tim Pearce contributed to this report.