Does the United States ‘Need’ Canada?

President Trump had one big question on his mind as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney headed to Washington last week.

“I very much want to work with him, but cannot understand one simple TRUTH,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post, reiterating several of ways he believes Canada benefits unfairly from its trade relationship with United States.

The president also repeated his incorrect claim that the United States is “subsidizing” Canada to the tune of $200 billion, alluding to the country’s trade deficit with Canada, which is the value of what the United States imports minus its exports.

In fact, the trade deficit last year was $63.3 billion, according to U.S. veri. And if Canada’s energy exports were stripped out, it turns into a trade surplus.

For Mr. Trump, it all boils down to one point: does the United States need Canada?

Mr. Trump’s resounding answer is no, and he has imposed tariffs on many Canadian goods.

“We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship,” he said in the social media post.