Why Lose Billions to Protect Them?

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose “very severe tariffs” on Canada as well as Mexico as part of a broader economic nationalist package to recoup losses from the trade deficit.

“We're going to impose very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada,” President Trump said at a news conference Tuesday. “…It's quite a tariff. I want to get along with everyone, but it takes two to tango.”

President Trump said he intended to use “economic power” against Canada and suggested he would support making Canada the country's 51st state because it would be “much better for national security.”

“Remember, we're basically protecting Canada. But here's the problem with Canada… We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year to protect Canada, and we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year to take care of Canada. “We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on this,” President Trump said.

We are suffering huge losses from the trade deficit… Their car is not needed. I know they make our cars, but we don't need them. I'd rather make it in Detroit. No car required. We don't need their wood. We have a large sawmill field. We don't need their wood…we don't need anything they have. We don't need their dairy products, we have more than they have. You don't need anything. So why are we losing over $200 billion a year to protect Canada? [Emphasis added]

Here's what we have: We are $36 trillion in debt, so we have the right not to help them with their economic hardships. …Why do we support the country over $200 billion a year, why should the military be at our disposal, and everything else should be the state? [Emphasis added]

President Trump said that for too long, American taxpayers have supported Canada simply out of “habit” by politicians in Washington, D.C.

President Trump said, “We're doing this because we love our neighbors, but we can't do it forever and it will cost a huge amount of money.'' “Why do we have to have a $200 billion deficit and give out so much else in the form of subsidies…That's fine if you're a state. But if you're another country, We don't want to have it, and the European Union doesn't want to have it either.”