Montreal (AFP) – Canada is reviewing a major purchase of US-made F-35 combat planes amid serious tensions with the Trump administration, a spokesperson for the Canadian defense ministry told AFP on Saturday. That announcement came two days after Portugal said it too was reexamining a possible purchase of American F-35 fighter jets amid rising international anger over the tariff war President Donald Trump has launched and his wavering support for the Atlantic alliance.
Trump rattled America’s northern neighbor by imposing 25 percent tariffs on all Canadian products before agreeing to suspend levies on Canadian exports covered by a North American trade pact. And he has regularly infuriated Canadians by suggesting their country become the 51st US state.
In one of his first official acts since taking office Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked the defense ministry “to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs,” according to an email from Laurent de Casanove, the ministry spokesperson. The Canadian government in January 2023 signed a contract with giant US defense company Lockheed Martin to purchase 88 F-35s for a total of Can$19 billion ($13.2 billion).
It has already paid for a first shipment of 16, set for delivery early next year. The deal has not been canceled, but “we need to do our homework given the changing environment, and make sure that the contract in its current form is in the best interests of Canadians and the Canadian Armed Forces,” the statement said.
Portugal indicated Thursday that it was studying both American F-35s and European aircraft as it looks to replace its air force’s aging F-16s. Outgoing defense minister Nuno Melo raised those options in an interview Thursday in the daily Publico, referring to the “predictability of our allies” and “the recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO and on the level of international geostrategy.”
© 2024 AFP
