 "Trudeau blasts Trump’s tariffs as ‘dumb,’ accuses US of plotting to annex Canada")
Canada announced 25% tariffs on $30 billion of goods went into effect early Tuesday, said Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, adding that he would expand tariffs to “the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time.”
He accused Trump – who has spoken often of making Canada the 51st American state – of wanting to “see a collapse of the Canadian economy because that would make it easier to annex us.”
Trudeau slammed the tariffs as “a very dumb thing to do,” and said Trump was seeking to collapse Canada’s economy to make it easier for the United States to annex his country.
”There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, adding that Canada would challenge the U.S. measures at the World Trade Organization and through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
“Canadians are reasonable. We are polite. We will not back down from a fight,” he said, adding that Washington had launched a “trade war.”
Trudeau made the announcement just hours after US President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.
Donald Trump’s trade war against America’s largest trading partners escalated Tuesday as huge US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China kicked in, sparking angry retaliation from all three.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTrump claimed his policies are aimed at safeguarding US jobs, boosting manufacturing and curbing illegal migration and drug trafficking. However, experts warn that these measures are likely to drive up costs for consumers both domestically and internationally.
China said its tariffs against the United States will come into effect next week and will impact tens of billions of dollars in imports, from soybeans to chickens.
Beijing announced that all imports of US lumber have been suspended, and that soybean shipments from three American exporters have been halted, as the country’s foreign ministry vowed to fight the US trade war to the “bitter end.”
While Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would be laying out her country’s response to the measures on Sunday.
Global markets fell sharply in response to the escalating trade war, with the S&P 500 – a major Wall Street index – extending recent losses to erase all of its gains since Trump’s US election victory in November.
With inputs from agencies
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