‘I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future,’ Trudeau said
OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday he was exempting most Mexican goods from recently-announced 25 per cent tariffs for at least a month, raising expectations that the same pause could be granted to Canada.
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Trump posted on his Truth Social account that he agreed to exempt goods covered under a free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico after speaking with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. The agreement is set to last until April 2, which is the date Trump set for imposing reciprocal tariffs.
“I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum,” Trump wrote.
Just hours earlier, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that Trump was likely to decide to exempt all trade covered by the free trade agreement, known in Canada as CUSMA, from his 25 per cent tariffs until April 2. An exemption for the auto-sector was announced Wednesday.
Trump did so at the request of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, known as the Big Three in auto-manufacturing. Political, industry and union leaders had warned of job losses and shutdowns within a week.
Speaking at an unrelated press conference Thursday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said while Lutnick’s comment “aligns with some of the conversations” Canadian officials have been having with the White House and calling it a “promising sign,” he would wait to see an official agreement before offering Canada’s response.
Until then, he says Canada’s retaliatory tariffs will remain in place.
“I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future.”
As the U.S tariffs took effect early Tuesday, Canada hit back with 25 per cent tariffs on $30-billion worth of American goods. They include live poultry, dairy products, eggs, fruits and vegetables, as well as a variety of alcohol.
The federal government plans to expand its list of tariffs to cover another $125-billion worth of U.S. goods in roughly 20 days. Trudeau has also threatened to take non-tariff measures, with many provinces announcing they would no longer do business with American companies for government contracting and taking U.S. booze off the shelves.
Asked whether Canada would decide against moving ahead with its second round of tariffs, Trudeau said conversations with Trump officials continue.
“There are obviously conversations ongoing right now with the U.S. administration, but as I said a number of times, we will not be backing down from our response tariffs until such a time as the unjustified American tariffs on Canadian goods are lifted.”
Since imposing his tariffs, Trump has been hearing concerns from lawmakers, economists and business leaders about the volatility they have caused, particularly when it comes to agriculture, given the U.S.’s dependence on Canada for agricultural products, such as potash. China also slapped tariffs on U.S. farming products after Trump increased tariffs on their imports to 20 per cent, up from 10 per cent.
On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford appeared on CNN to call for an end to the trade war and for the U.S. to instead come to the table to talk about its free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, which was negotiated during Trump’s first term in office and is due for review next year.
“Let’s just put an end to this and let’s start building our economy,” Ford said. “But as of Monday, this Monday, we’re putting a tariff, a 25 per cent tariff on the electricity to the $1.5 million homes and businesses in those three states and honestly, it really bothers me we have to do this.”
While Trump says his 25 per cent tariffs against Mexico and Canada — which is only 10 per cent for Canadian energy — has to do with the level of fentanyl entering the U.S., Trudeau says Canada is responsible for less than one per cent of the fentanyl and migrants coming into the U.S.
Calling Trump’s decision to hit Canada with tariffs “dumb,” Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that he believes the president was doing so to try and collapse the Canadian economy to make it easier to try and turn the country into a state, which Trump often says he wants to do.
Trudeau and Trump spoke for the first time on Wednesday. A senior government source says the call lasted around 50 minutes and that Lutnick and Vice President JD Vance also joined.
Asked about the conversation on Thursday, Trudeau characterized it as a “colourful call.”
He declined to comment on reports that the conversation grew heated at a times and that profanity was used.
“I’ve been having conversations and working with Donald for over eight years now,” Trudeau says.
“And a lot of it is rolling with it.”
–With additional reporting by The Associated Press
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