Trump’s invasion threats violate international law: Canadian ambassador

PARIS — Canada’s ambassador to France says United States President Donald Trump’s invasion threats violate international law.

“I’m just saying that in order to respect international law, you don’t threaten your neighbours by invasion,” Stéphane Dion said Monday at Canada’s embassy in Paris, one day after Trump said he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports — including imports from Canada.

Trump has said he wouldn’t rule out using military force to take over Greenland, which is part of Denmark.

In January, Trump threatened to use “economic force” to annex Canada. He said again Sunday that he wants to see Canada become a U.S. state, after being asked about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent claim that Trump is not joking about annexation.

In response to a question about Greenland, Dion said such threats are not normal and violate the UN Charter. He said that merely threatening to invade another country is a violation of international law.

Trudeau is in Paris to attend a global summit on artificial intelligence. Late Sunday evening, following a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trudeau did not answer reporters’ questions about Trump’s recent statements.

Dion said Canada and European countries are working on a cohesive strategy to address Trump’s tariff threats.

“Canada and Mexico are the first ones, but Europeans know that they may be targeted as well,” he said. “We’re anticipating that. They are working with us about how can we have a cohesive way to convince the U.S. 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. Trudeau and Vance were both at the Palais de l’Élysée Monday evening for a dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for dignitaries attending the summit.

A government official said Trudeau interacted with various leaders at the reception Monday, including officials from Germany, Ireland, Finland and the EU, but did not specifically name Vance.

Vance is expected to speak at the AI summit Tuesday before holding bilateral meetings at the American residence.

Last week, both Canada and Mexico were granted month-long reprieves from Trump’s threatened broad-based tariffs.

On Wednesday, Trudeau will travel to Brussels to meet with EU leaders — an opportunity for Canada to shore up its relationship with the European Union in the face of Trump’s threats.

Dion told reporters Monday that 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,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press