Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to US President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to implement tariffs on Canada, saying that it is “a very dumb thing to do.”
“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight,” Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa, emphasizing that “Canada will be implementing 25% tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days.”
Stressing that “there are no winners in a trade war,” Trudeau affirmed that Canada’s tariffs against American goods “will remain in place until the US tariffs are withdrawn, and not a moment sooner.”
“Let me be crystal clear, there is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today,” he said, adding that the motive behind Trump’s tariffs is to “see a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that’ll make it easier to annex” Canada.
“That’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state,” he added.
Trudeau pointed to Trump’s recent remarks that claimed that “there is nothing Canada or Mexico can do to avoid these tariffs,” and said the president’s remarks are proof that “these tariffs are not specifically about fentanyl, even though that is the legal justification he must use to actually move forward with these tariffs.”
Citing the latest editorial by The Wall Street Journal, “Trump Takes the Dumbest Tariff Plunge,” Trudeau said: “Now it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal.”
“But Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do,” he added.
Trudeau directly addressed Americans and said: “We don’t want this,” adding, “Your government has chosen to do this to you.”
He said the Trump administration is the one that chose to “launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families,” and argued Trump and his team have “chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States.”
Asked whether he has spoken to Trump recently, Trudeau said: “No, I have been available to speak to him over the past few days. We had spoken about a month ago. I hope to have a conversation in the next few days.”
Noting difficulties in negotiating with Trump, the Canadian premier said: “Conversations with the president — it’s been difficult to establish what he really wants.”
“His goal is to destroy the Canadian economy so that he can try to annex the country,” he said, adding that Canadian tariffs on the US are “to show the degree to which our economies are intertwined and to demonstrate that economic barriers make families on both sides of the border suffer.”
Trudeau also criticized Trump’s recent remarks on banking regulations on American banks.
“I heard he talked about banking again this morning in a tweet, which doesn’t make any sense because about 16 American banks are currently active in Canada, holding about $113 billion worth of assets in this country,” he said. “So, the American banks are alive and well and prospering in Canada.”
Trudeau also acknowledged that he had hoped the tariffs were a negotiation tactic.
“We’re going to see the real impact of a trade war between our two countries,” he said.
Emphasizing that Canada’s priority is “to put an end to this economic war,” Trudeau said Americans are “looking at hikes in prices of their consumer products, and that will help us put an end to this challenge as quickly as possible.”
He urged Canadians to “remain united,” emphasizing that their frustration is with US policies, not the American people.
“Canadians are hurt. Canadians are angry,” said Trudeau, as he urged Canadians to support their economy by choosing local products over American.
“We’re insulted and we’re angry, but we’re Canadian, which means we’re going to stand up for each other, we’re going to fight, we’re going to win,” he said.