‘We will not back down’: Trudeau says Canada fighting back against U.S. tariffs

CITYnews halifax / By Patricia D’Cunha, Cormac Mac Sweeney, and The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, with retaliatory measures and some tough words.

Trudeau said the U.S. has launched a “dumb” continental trade war, and Canada is fighting back.

“Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight. Not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake,” the Prime Minister said Tuesday, speaking to Canadians.

“We’re going to fight, and we’re going to win.”

Trump has followed through on his threat to hit Canada and Mexico with sweeping economy-wide tariffs, 10 per cent on energy and 25 per cent on all other goods, which came into effect at midnight.

Canada has responded with immediate countermeasures. It is imposing 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on $30 billion worth of American products, with the levy set to expand to cover another $125 billion in U.S. goods in 21 days.

The Prime Minister had a direct message for President Trump. Addressing him by his first name, Trudeau said, “This is a very dumb thing to do.”

“Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things … we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.”

‘This is a very dumb thing to do’: Trudeau delivers tariff response to Trump

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke directly to U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that 25% tariffs on imported Canadian goods is a “very dumb thing to do.” Trudeau also announced a round of retaliatory tariffs on American products.

Trudeau also said Canada will challenge U.S. tariffs through the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) process and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“This country is worth fighting for.”

Directly addressing Canadians, Trudeau said, “This is going to be tough, even though we are all going to pull together because that’s what we do.”

“We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather the storm. From expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to businesses, we will be there, as needed, to help.”

Trudeau said the federal government will support Canadians “no matter the cost” to protect businesses from potential “predatory” takeovers.

‘This is gonna be tough’: Trudeau pledges to help Canadians impacted by tariffs

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to help Canadian workers and businesses impacted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to place 25% tariffs on most imported Canadian goods. Trudeau promised to use every tool available to help Canadians.

In Trudeau’s message to Americans, he spoke about the damage this trade war will cause to the U.S. economy by raising prices and cutting jobs.

“We don’t want this, we want to work with you as a friend and ally. We don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you,” Trudeau said.

“Your government has chosen to put American government jobs at risk, at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada, or because of consumers in Canada, or both.”

Despite Canada’s border plan showing a 97 per cent reduction in drug seizures at the border since December, Trudeau said in a statement that the actions of the U.S. are entirely unjustified and violate the free trade deal Trump himself signed in his first term.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows the number of people and drugs crossing illegally into the United States from Canada is minuscule compared to the volume coming across the southern border. It reports just 13.6 grams of fentanyl seized by northern Border Patrol staff in January.

Trudeau said that Canada’s response to border and fentanyl concerns was “well received” by American officials, and now Trump is ignoring his justification for the tariffs.

“These tariffs are not specifically about fentanyl even though that is the legal justification he must use to actually move forward with these tariffs,” he said.

“The one thing (Trump) has said repeatedly, that what he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that will make it easier to annex us,” Trudeau said, adding Canada will never become a U.S. state.

The Prime Minister also said he would meet with the premiers on Tuesday to discuss potential non-tariff responses. Trudeau said some provinces are looking at blocking American companies from bidding on publicly funded contracts.

Trump said he also plans to implement 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports coming into the U.S. on Mar. 12. These duties would be on top of any existing tariffs.

Economists warn if the trade war continues, it will plunge Canada into a recession in a matter of months and lead to price increases and job losses.

Could tariffs be adjusted or called off?

On Tuesday afternoon in an interview on Fox Business, United States Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the U.S. will likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.

Lutnick said Trump has been on the phone with Canadian and Mexican officials after imposing 25% tariffs on the countries, including 10% import taxes on Canada’s energy products such as oil and electricity.

With files from The Associated Press