Trump seeks to use Canada's recognition of Palestinian state as leverage in trade talks

[Jilly_in_VA]

President Donald Trump said Canada’s announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state “will make it very hard” for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Trump’s threat, posted in the early hours Thursday on his social media network, is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.

The Republican president said this week that he didn’t mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week he said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s similar move was “not going to change anything.”

But Trump, who has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become its 51st U.S. state, indicated on Thursday that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s similar recognition would become leverage ahead of a deadline he set in trade talks.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-palestinians-canada-d5613417c217374352305564c6a96842

You can't blackmail a country whose economy is as strong as yours when yours is galling. And more countries are going to recognize Palestine.

[lapucelle]

1. Trump must be panicked about what happened at the UN on Monday. Macron is now the leader

of the free world.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt join call for Hamas to disarm, give up Gaza rule

United Nations (United States) (AFP)

Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt joined calls Tuesday for Hamas to disarm and end its rule of Gaza, in a bid to end the devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

Seventeen countries plus the European Union and Arab League threw their weight behind a seven-page text agreed at a United Nations conference on reviving the two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

"In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State," said the declaration.

snip========================

The text also condemned the deadly October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel, something the UN General Assembly has yet to do.

France, which co-chaired the conference with Saudi Arabia, called the declaration "both historic and unprecedented." "For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250729-qatar-saudi-egypt-join-call-for-hamas-to-disarm-give-up-gaza-rule

[Lovie777]

3. shithole can kiss the Noble Peace Prize goodbye.............

Russia economy is failing and the disasters recently truly hurt the country. Ukraine (hope) is winning against Russia, and in the eyes of the world Putin status in falling,

Everything shithole touches dies. Unfortunately his hands are all over the USA.

[Dave Bowman]

6. "Everything shithole touches dies." He should touch himself more often.

[tritsofme]

2. If folks want to play pretend and "recognize" a state that doesn't exist in any real way

That would seem to be their prerogative. Trump lives in his own fantasy world too.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

4. CANADA and other Democraic countries are giving TACO Don the proverbial....FUCK YOU!

The US is becoming more and more isolated as time goes by. Soon, NO country will want to trade with us, tourism will come to a halt to the point where even Americans will not want to visit places like Zoos, Disney Parks, big cities, go out to eat, etc.

Nice going, Donnie! Turn the US into a ghost town of a country.

[Ritabert]

5. What leverage? Delusional Donny.

[jls4561]

7. Canada could claim the current low IQ administration is treating all sentient, caring citizens of the country

“very unfairly” and refuse to negotiate.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

8. I'll be surprised...

...if the conditions for Canadian recognition of a Palestinian state are met.

"Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025,” Carney said — a move that he said was predicated on the Palestinian Authority “holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state."

https://apnews.com/article/canada-gaza-israel-palestinian-state-0c7dfc4b9985491bc1cbaac9e5d954a3

[tritsofme]

9. One has to wonder how elections that exclude Palestinian's most popular political movement are in any way democratic?

It cannot be.

“Palestine” is simply not a viable democratic state today, it is silly to pretend otherwise.

[murielm99]

10. If you are talking about Hamas,

they are terrorists, not a political movement. Until everyone over there recognizes Israel's right to exist, none of them deserve recognition. We don't negotiate with terrorists and we should repay them in kind by not recognizing their right to exist.

[tritsofme]

11. The problem is that they are a political movement. Open elections would likely lead to a Hamas landslide.

That’s why there have been no elections in the disputed territories for some 20 years.