Trudeau to address Canadians Tuesday morning as trade war with U.S. roars to life
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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the country Tuesday morning, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent tariffs took effect.
The order from 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.
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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.
Trudeau will hold a press conference Tuesday morning with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.
Reaction to the burgeoning trade war has been swift. 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.
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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.”
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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