Long simmering trade issues between Canada and the United States have now blown up into a full-blown tariff war. Starting Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s tariff threats will kick in, hitting Canadian goods sent south of the border with a 25 per cent tariff. Canadian energy was spared slightly, with tariffs of 10 per cent.
A few hours after Trump’s order was official, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hit back, slapping 25 per cent tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods shipped to Canada — on items ranging from orange juice to household appliances.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc was at Trudeau’s side for the announcement, and as chair of the recently formed Cabinet Committee on Canada-U.S. relations, he’s been inside many of the trade negotiations.
“We’re not seeking to escalate this. We were careful,” LeBlanc told The West Block, “The tariff is at 25 per cent. That’s the rate that (Trump) chose.”
The tariffs Canada is imposing will be stepped up gradually. Tuesday will bring about an initial step of $30 billion, largely on consumer products that the minister said Canadians would have non-American alternatives for.
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“If you’re buying a washing machine made in the United States,” he said, “there are some that might be made in Korea or Europe that could be substitutes.”
The next step will bring an additional $125-billion worth of goods, from passenger vehicles to beef pork and dairy. Those are expected to kick in after a 21-day public comment period and further expected talks between Washington and Ottawa.
LeBlanc said none of the discussions up to this point have been directly between Trump and Trudeau. He explained, “there are discussions between various ministers,” but not between the two heads of state. Who did LeBlanc blame the lack of communication on? “If the president hasn’t scheduled the call with the prime minister yet,” LeBlanc said, “the White House could perhaps explain why he hasn’t done that.”
When it comes to a possible end to this feud, LeBlanc says he and his colleagues believe “the Americans will come to the conclusion that this is not in their economic interest to continue. So we’re hopeful.”
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