Trump escalates trade war with Canada as Trudeau hits back amid new tariffs
This combination of pictures created on Nov. 29, 2024 shows
former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) looking on during a campaign rally at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2024 and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looking on during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Montreal, Canada, on September 26, 2024.. Donald Trump has not yet returned to the White House but is already thrusting himself to the front of international stage as he once again shatters diplomatic niceties. As only the second former president elected to a non-consecutive term, Trump is at least a known quantity to world leaders. Even his knack for unpredictable behavior is predictable. (AFP Photo)
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will hold another conversation later in the day as tensions rise over trade issues and tariffs between the two countries.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump took aim at Canada’s trade restrictions and linked the discussions with Trudeau to the broader issue of drug trafficking across North America.
“Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about? Many such things, but it’s also a DRUG WAR, and hundreds of thousands of people have died in the U.S. from drugs pouring through the Borders of Mexico and Canada,” Trump wrote. “Just spoke to Justin Trudeau. Will be speaking to him again at 3:00 P.M.”
The conversation comes amid Trump’s renewed push for trade measures against US partners. Over the weekend, he announced new tariffs targeting Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, citing what he called unfair trade imbalances. Trump signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, set to take effect early Tuesday, while also introducing a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
Canada has responded to Trump’s new tariffs with retaliatory measures, imposing 25% tariffs “against $155 billion worth of American goods,” Trudeau annoounced Sunday.
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Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump Sunday criticized Canada for restricting US exports, saying: “It’s been a one-way street… We subsidize Canada by about $200 billion a year, and for what? We don’t get anything out of it.”
“They have to balance out their trade, number one. They’ve got to stop people from pouring into our country, and we’ve stopped it. They haven’t stopped it. We’ve stopped it. They have to stop people pouring in, and we have to stop fentanyl. And that includes China,” he said.
