‘Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,’ Trudeau said on Monday evening
‘Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,’ Trudeau said on Monday evening
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal with sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican products is the “total collapse” of Canada’s economy in order to annex the country.
In a fiery speech on the morning the U.S. tariffs and retaliatory Canadian tariffs kicked in, Trudeau said the Trump’s decision to launch a trade war was a “really dumb thing to do” as he promised to expand EI benefits and provide direct support to businesses affected by the historic trade war.
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“There are no winners in a trade war,” Trudeau said during a fiery speech Tuesday in which he warned Canadians and Americans that it will be “tough” on everyone.
During his speech, Trudeau had a message for Americans, Canadians and even U.S. President Donald Trump, to whom he referred to as “Donald” in apparent mimicry of Trump’s habit of calling him “Justin”.
“We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either, but your government has chosen to do this to you,” he told Americans.
“It’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do,” he added to Trump.
For the first time publicly, Trudeau also revealed that Trump’s claims that the tariffs are related to border security and fentanyl smuggling from Canada are “completely false” and that his ultimate goal is to collapse the Canadian economy.
“The one thing he has said repeatedly that what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us,” Trudeau said.
“That’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state. But yeah, he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he started this morning, but he is rapidly going to find out, as American families are going to find out, that that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border,” he added.
The order from U.S. President Donald Trump came into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday and placed a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy and a 25 per cent levy on all other imports. As it became clear on Monday night that there would be no reprieve from the American trade action, Canada promised to respond with tariffs of its own.
Trudeau said Canada would start “with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,” Trudeau said.
Reaction to the burgeoning trade war has been swift. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston promised to retaliate and wrote on social media that Trump is a “short-sighted man who wields his power just for the sake of it.”
Houston said he would limit access to provincial procurement for American business and would look into cancelling existing contracts with Americans. He also pledged to double the highway tolls on commercial vehicles from the United States and remove American alcohol from the shelves at the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.
Chambers of commerce in both countries warned that workers in both countries would feel the negative effects of the tariffs.
“Today’s reckless decision by the U.S. administration is forcing Canada and the U.S. toward recessions, job losses and economic disaster,” said Candace Laing, the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
“The U.S. government’s self-defeating tariff policy disregards decades of success and trillions in trade to try and revive a failed economic model from the 1800s. Tariffs are a tax on the American people,” said Laing.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged a swift end to the tariffs, arguing that “tariffs will only raise prices and increase the economic pain being felt by everyday Americans across the country.”
On Tuesday morning, Brian Cornell, the CEO of retail giant Target, said on U.S. television that “the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days.”
Trump has identified the flow of fentanyl and migrants over the American borders with Mexico and Canada as the reason for the tariffs and has urged action from both countries to beef up security at border crossings. Canadian officials have argued that less than one per cent of the fentanyl entering the U.S. flows over the country’s border with Canada, but have nonetheless tried to assuage Trump’s concerns.
The Trudeau government secured a 30-day reprieve from tariffs last month by promising to appoint a so-called “fentanyl czar” and list cartels as terrorist entities. The government also announced a six year $1.3-billion border plan that would increase the number of officers and surveillance at the Canada-U.S. border.
More to come…
National Post
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