PARIS — The Canadian ambassador to France says threats by United States President Donald Trump to invade another country violate international law.
"I'm just saying that in order to respect international law, you don't threaten your neighbors by invasion," Stéphane Dion said.
Trump has said he wouldn’t rule out using military force to take over Greenland, which is part of Denmark.
Trump said again Sunday that he wants to see Canada become a U.S. state, after being asked about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent comments saying that that Trump is not joking.
In response to a question about Greenland, Dion said such threats are not normal and violate the UN Charter. He said that it’s not just against international law to invade another country but also to threaten to do so.
The U.S. president also said Sunday he will formally announce 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday, including from Canada.
He made the comments as Trudeau is in Paris to attend the global summit on artificial intelligence. Late Sunday evening following a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau did not answer reporters’ questions about the Trump’s statements.
Dion said Canada and European countries are working on a cohesive strategy to address tariff threats from the United States.
"Canada and Mexico are the first ones, but Europeans know that they may be targeted as well. We’re anticipating that. They are working with us about how can we have a cohesive way to convince the US administration that trade wars are painful for everyone… and not something that you should do between friends."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is also in Paris for the AI Action Summit, but it’s not clear whether he will meet with Trudeau, as no meeting has been announced to date.
Both Canada and Mexico were granted at least 30-day reprieves from the Trump's broad-based tariff threat being realized just last week.
On Wednesday, Trudeau will travel to Brussels to meet with E.U. leaders, which could offer Canada an opportunity to shore up its relationship with the European Union in the context of Trump’s threats.
Dion told reporters Monday Canada won’t be successful in trade diversification unless that effort includes Europe.
"Now that we see that unfortunately for now at least the U.S. administration is not as reliable as we thought, not respecting treaties as we thought, we need Europeans and Canadians to work very closely together," Dion said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2024.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
