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May 31, 2018 7:25 PM PDT
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross leaves his hotel in Beijing, Friday, May 4, 2018. U.S.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the U.S. will slap tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and
European Union steel and aluminium as of midnight tonight.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Mark
Schiefelbein Mark Schiefelbein / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Earlier in the day, the prime minister called Trump’s use of a national
security clause in U.S. trade law to justify the tariffs “totally
unacceptable.”
Trump shot back hours later in a statement, saying the days of the U.S.
being taken advantage of in trade deals “are over.” The U.S., Canada and
Mexico are also involved in a tough renegotiation of the North American
Free Trade Agreement.
The broadside comes one week before Trump sets foot on Canadian soil
for the first time as president, in the G7 summit that Trudeau is hosting
in Quebec. It represents an apparent breakdown in Trudeau’s efforts to
find common ground with the tough-talking president.
But the tariffs stung particularly in Canada, where Trudeau evoked the
history of the two countries fighting together, from the beaches of
Normandy to the mountains of Afghanistan.
“We talked about how difficult this was going to be in terms of a turning
point in the Canada-U.S. relationship,” Trudeau noted.
The tariffs, which apply to a long list of U.S. products that includes
everything from flat-rolled steel to playing cards and felt-tipped pens,
will go into effect July 1, said Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“This is the strongest trade action Canada has taken in the post-war era,”
Freeland said. “This is a very strong Canadian action in response to a
very bad U.S. decision.”
The U.S. measures, aimed at Canada, Mexico and the European Union,
are illegal and counterproductive, said Freeland. Both she and Trudeau
sounded incredulous that Canada could ever be considered a national-
security threat to such a close and important ally.
Canada, Mexico and Europe had been exempted from import duties of
25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum when they were first
imposed in March, but those exemptions were to expire as scheduled on
Friday.
Ross shrugged off questions about the U.S. facing possible retaliation, or
whether the move would negatively affect the G7 meeting. And he
repeated that while he was looking forward to continuing negotiations,
the U.S. decision was based on national security grounds.
The long-threatened tactic is sure to cast a pall over the G7, with some
observers saying a G6-plus-one scenario is already shaping up.
“It all depends on how the various parties react to the circumstances.”
While the tariffs have had “major, positive effects” on industry jobs and
workers, “the Trump administration’s actions underscore its
commitment to good-faith negotiations with our allies to enhance our
national security while supporting American workers,” the White House
said in a statement.
“I think that we’ve all had just about enough of Donald Trump…. He
doesn’t seem to get that his bluster and his bullying are costing people
real jobs — in his own country, in Canada and in Ontario,” Wynne said.
“I really believe that now the time for talk is done. Donald Trump is a
bully and the only way to deal with a bully is to stand up and push back
and we have to do that.”
“The key takeaway is Donald Trump does not view the Canada-U.S.
relationship as special,” Eric Miller of the Rideau Potomac Strategy
Group, said in an interview.
“This is Trump versus the world, rather than Trump versus Canada.”
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