U.S. tariffs ‘very dumb thing’ — Trudeau
Trudeau accuses Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada’s economy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Daily TribuneTrudeau accuses Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada’s economy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
CANADIAN Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday called United States President Donald Trump’s imposition of 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods “very dumb thing to do.”
Trudeau made the remarks as he announced that Ottawa’s retaliatory 25 percent tariffs on $20.8 million worth of American goods took effect early Tuesday.
Trudeau said tariffs on an additional 125 billion Canadian dollars worth of US imports will come into force in 21 days.
In his speech to Congress, Trump defended his trade policy.
“Tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They’re about protecting the soul of our country,” he said. “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”
A furious Trudeau accused Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada’s economy to make it easier for the US to annex his country, and blasted Washington for targeting a close ally while “appeasing” Russia over Ukraine.
Trump’s 25 percent duties on Mexican and Canadian imports affect everything from avocados to the lumber crucial for building US homes, snarling supply chains for key sectors like automobiles. Canadian energy resources face a lower rate.
Multiple Canadian provinces have since banned the sale of US alcohol products, as part of a broad national retaliation.
Trump also inked an order Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 percent tariff on China to 20 percent — piling atop existing levies on various Chinese goods.
Beijing condemned Washington’s “unilateral imposition of tariffs,” filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization and unveiling 10-15 percent levies on a range of agricultural imports from the US.
On Tuesday, Trump also took aim in his speech at the European Union and countries including Brazil, India and South Korea over what he called “unfair” practices.
He said reciprocal tariffs tailored to US trading partners would “kick in” on 2 April.
Mexico supplied 63 percent of US vegetable imports and nearly half of fruit and nut imports in 2023, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Brian Cornell, chief executive of US retail giant Target, said Tuesday the company could be forced to raise the cost of some fruits and vegetables over the coming days.
“The short-term effect of any tariff clearly is inflation,” Charles van der Steene, the North America president for shipping giant Maersk, told CNBC. “It’s inflationary in its essence.”
Housing costs could also be hit. More than 70 percent of imports of two key building materials — softwood lumber and gypsum — come from Canada and Mexico, according to the National Association of Home Builders.