Trudeau says Americans realizing impact of Trump tariffs
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday said Americans “are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive" and said he will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them.
Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Trump will be “a little more challenging” than the last time because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016.
The U.S. president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.
“Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive," Trudeau said.
On the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where the president-elect said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers.
“Let’s not kid ourselves in any way, shape or form, 25% tariffs on everything going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy," Trudeau said.
“It would also, however, mean real hardship for Americans as well. Americans import 65% of their crude oil from Canada, significant amounts of electricity. Just about all the natural gas exported from Canada goes to the United States. They rely on us for steel and aluminum. They rely on us for a range of agriculture imports. All of those things would get more expensive.”
The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, has said tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate.
“We will of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs,” Trudeau said.
Trudeau said his government is still mulling over “the right ways” to respond, referencing when Canada put billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Trudeau said when Trump says things he means them but they also know Trump is trying to insert uncertainty and “a bit of chaos” into democracies.
“One of the most important things for us to do is not freak out, not to panic,” Trudeau said. “Knowing these would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously but it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic and not going around making our opponents arguments for him but making our arguments in a significant and united way."