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Trump has been threatening to impose sweeping tariffs on Canada,
Mexico and other trading partners.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada,” Trump
said late Monday night in the Oval Office. “I think February
1st.”
The timeline of possible tariffs remains in question. Trump
signed an executive order requesting a report coordinated by the
Secretary of Commerce by April. 1.
Trump pledged in his inaugural address that tariffs would be
coming and said foreign countries would be paying the trade
penalties, even though those taxes are currently paid by
domestic importers and often passed along to consumers.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said they “will continue
to work on preventing tariffs” but said they are also “working
on retaliation.”
Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Trump can be
unpredictable.
“None of this should be surprising," he said. “Our country is
absolutely ready to respond to any one of these scenarios.”
Canadian leaders earlier expressed relief the tariffs were not
imposed on the first day of Trump taking office.
Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the
world, and 75% of Canada’s exports, which include automobiles
and parts, go to the U.S.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly
$3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and
services cross the border each day.
Despite Trump’s claim that the U.S doesn’t need Canada, a
quarter of the oil America consumes per day is from there.
“It would be a mistake for the American government to proceed
with imposing tariffs, in terms of the cost living in the United
States, in terms of jobs in the United States and the security
of supply chains,” LeBlanc said.
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