Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that 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 would retaliate if US president-elect Donald Trump goes ahead with them.
Trump later responded by calling Canada a state and Trudeau the governor.
Speaking at an event organized by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau said that dealing with Trump would 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.
Photo: AP
Trump has threatened to impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the US 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.
At the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, where he said he could not guarantee that his promised tariffs on key US foreign trade partners would not raise prices for US consumers.
“Let’s not kid ourselves in any way, shape or form, 25 percent 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 percent 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,” he said.
Trump seemed to respond to Trudeau’s comments with a post on social media late on Monday, in which he noted Trudeau’s recent dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where some said Trump joked about Canada becoming the 51st state.
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all! DJT,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25 percent tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow would collide with his campaign promise to give US families a break from inflation.
Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods.
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