Trump to speak at UN General Assembly amid trade war and tariff threats

2:12 Trump says he wants potash from Belarus for “substantially less” than Canada

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to address the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, despite his administration’s efforts to undermine multilateralism and to target allies with threats and tariffs.

The theme of this year’s Assembly is “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney — who has emerged in recent weeks as a key global leader defending multilateralism in the face of Trump’s attacks — is expected to attend the opening of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Trump has demanded massive reforms at the UN and has held back funding for the institution, putting it in turmoil. The Trump administration has withdrawn from multiple UN organizations, including the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO.

Carney, however, has been making the case for continued global collaboration to address crises like climate change, financial instability and war.

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For nearly a year now, Carney has been travelling the globe calling on middle powers to band together in defence of what he has called “shared interests, and occasionally shared values, rather than shared institutions.”

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Carney has sought to build a bridge between the European Union and a Pacific Rim trading bloc called CPTPP so middle powers can better resist economic coercion by the United States and China.

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The prime minister’s efforts have caught the attention of the Trump administration, especially since trade negotiations ended acrimoniously last month.

After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week opened the door to Canada becoming what she called the first “associate member” of the European Union, Trump said it could be a “hostile act.”

Carney could face further pressure from the president on Tuesday when the prime minister co-hosts with France and the United Kingdom an event on the two-state solution, one year after the three countries recognized an independent Palestinian state at the General Assembly. More than 150 countries followed the move to recognize Palestinian statehood.

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At last year’s General Assembly, Trump said recognizing a Palestinian state would amount to rewarding Hamas for the “horrible atrocities” of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Trump also claimed the move could hinder Canada’s ability to make a trade deal with the United States.

Canada and the U.S. now seem further than ever from reaching that deal. Bilateral relations have continued to deteriorate as the trade war has escalated.

Trump is expected to once again denigrate the United Nations in his Tuesday speech.

During his 2025 speech to the General Assembly, Trump criticized the United Nations for failing to end wars, something he said can’t be done through dialogue alone.

He also has repeatedly claimed he was the victim of a UN conspiracy after an escalator he was riding at UN headquarters stopped moving and his TelePrompTer malfunctioned.