Trump has proposed that Canada and Mexico become U.S. states

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump suggested in an interview with NBC on Dec. 10 that Canada and Mexico become U.S. states to avoid imposing customs duties from Washington.

"We subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100 billion a year. We subsidize Mexico to the tune of almost $300 billion. We shouldn't, why are we subsidizing these countries? If we're going to subsidize them, let them be states," Trump said.

In response to a question from a TV host about whether Americans would be affected by the possible imposition of customs duties on goods from the countries in question, Trump said that using them correctly could be beneficial to the United States.

"Properly used, tariffs are a very powerful tool, not only economically, but to get other things outside of the economy," the President-elect of the United States said.

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Earlier, on December 3, Trump said during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the country could become the 51st US state if Ottawa fails to address illegal migration and drug smuggling.

Prior to that, on November 26, the president-elect of the United States noted that on the day of his inauguration, January 20, 2025, he would impose import duties of 25% on all Canadian and Mexican goods if Ottawa and Mexico City failed to fundamentally change the situation with migration across the Canadian border.

Trudeau promised that he would retaliate if such economic measures were imposed, Bloomberg wrote on December 9. It was reported that the Canadian Prime Minister considered the possible sanctions unfair and destructive to the Canadian economy. The Associated Press reported that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also said that she was ready to take retaliatory measures in case of imposition of duties.