Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly has stated that Canada needs to send the message it will “fight back” after U.S. President Donald Trump said steep tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico products are definitely coming next week.
In a recent press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Trump was asked whether he was forging ahead with levies against America’s closest neighbours.
He said: “The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule.”
The executive order of Trump to implement 25 percent tariffs on every Canadian import, with a lower 10 percent levy on energy, was put on hold till March 4 after Canada agreed to put new security measures in place at the border.
Though the original executive order was hinged on the flow of deadly fentanyl, the president said earlier this month that the pause would allow time to reach a “final economic deal.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Trump by phone recently ahead of Monday’s virtual G7 meeting. Though the call largely focused on Ukraine, the Prime Minister’s Office said Trudeau also kept Trump abreast of efforts at the Canada-U.S. border to counter trafficking in fentanyl.
Canadian federal ministers and premiers have been visiting Washington in recent weeks in an effort to discover what it would take to make Trump abandon his tariff plans. Despite the diplomatic push, it remains unclear what Trump wants in exchange for dropping the tariff threat for good.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data reveals that the number of people and drugs crossing illegally into the United States from Canada is minimal compared to the volume coming across the United States’ southern border.
Joly said Canadians have gotten positive feedback from American authorities about efforts at the border. She added the U.S. is a net exporter of guns, migrants and drugs to Canada.
Joly said Canada must be ready for every scenario to “be able to deal with the unpredictability of President Trump.”
In a call with reporters from London, Joly said: “We need to be aware that the threat of tariffs is a real one and may continue for a while. And meanwhile, we need to stand strong and send a clear message that Canadians will fight back.”
Canada has pledged that if the tariffs are implemented, it would fight back with a package of retaliatory levies on billions of dollars worth of American goods.
Joly revealed that many of the threats to impose levies target countries around the world and it’s crucial to connect with allies to present a strong response.
She said: “It is important that allies under that threat work together and work as a coalition by having the same types of counter-measures.”
