President Donald Trump knows how to communicate by using Twitter, so to accommodate Trump, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today took to Twitter to express his – and Canada’s – feelings about the steel and aluminum tariffs that were announced by the U.S. on Thurs., May 31.
American tariffs on Canadian aluminum & steel are unacceptable. As we have said, we will always stand up for our workers, and today we’re announcing retaliatory measures to this attack on our industry.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 31, 2018
Actually, the Prime Minister used a series of Tweets to make clear his intentions, in no uncertain terms.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, during a press conference today said, “This is $16.6 billion of retaliation. This is the strongest trade action Canada has taken in the post-war era. This is a very strong response, it is a proportionate response, it is perfectly reciprocal. This is a very strong Canadian action in response to a very bad U.S. decision.”
The dubious claim by Trump that Canada could ever be considered a “national security threat” because it exports auto parts and autos to the U.S. is viewed by Canadians as being ludicrous.
“That Canada could be considered a national-security threat to the United States is inconceivable,” said Trudeau, adding that the people of the U.S. are not Canada’s target and that the federal government would far prefer that its hand not be forced.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, campaigning in advance of the June 7 provincial election, was very forceful in her view of Trump, saying, “I think that we’ve all had just about enough of Donald Trump…. He doesn’t seem to get that his bluster and his bullying are costing people real jobs — in his own country, in Canada, and in Ontario.”
Canada plans to start issuing tariffs on U.S. goods on July 1, 2018. And while he didn’t say what goods will be affected, the list is coming. Trudeau isn’t alone in retaliating over the tariffs.
Mexico has also stated it intends to fight back. Our trade partner to the south plans on imposing tariffs on American pork, fruit, cheese and flat steel, while European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker declared the US tariffs were illegal under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. “What they can do, we’re able to do exactly the same,” he said.
