Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to Donald Trump’s new U.S. tariffs issued Thursday morning. During a press conference Thursday evening, Trudeau seemed to hold nothing back in his response to Trump. The anger and resolve in eyes and voice make that perfectly clear.
Trudeau begins
“Let me be clear. These tariffs are totally unacceptable.”
Trudeau stressed that Canada’s issues are not against the American people—who will remain their partners, allies and friends. Canada’s issues are with Trump and his Republican-led administration. Trudeau says he hopes common sense will eventually prevail, but sees no signs of that happening from this American government.
Here is the YouTube video, lasting a little over five minutes, followed by a transcript for those with vision/hearing impairments.
Transcript:
“Today, we find ourselves the target of punitive tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, under pretext of a 232 National Security Provision.
Let me be clear. These tariffs are totally unacceptable.
For 150 years, Canada has been the United States’s most steadfast ally. Canadians and Americans fought along side of each other during both World Wars and in Korea. From the beaches of Normandy to the mountains of Afghanistan, we have fought and died together.
Canadian personel are serving along side Americans at this very moment. We are partners in NORAD, NATO and around the world.
We came to America’s aid after 911, as Americans have come to our aid in the past, and we’re fighting together against DAESH in Northern Iraq.
The numbers are clear. The United States has a two billions U.S. dollar surplus in steel trade with Canada. And Canada buys more Americans steel than any other country in the world. Indeed, we account for half of U.S. steel exports.
Canada is a supplier of aluminum and steel to the U.S. defense industry putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks.
That Canada could be considered a national security threat to the United States—is inconceivable.
These tariffs will harm industries and workers on both sides of the Canada/US border, disrupting linked supply chains that have made North American steel and aluminum more competitive all around the world.
These tariffs are an affront to the longstanding security partnerships between Canada and United States, and in particular—an affront to the thousands of Canadians who have fought and died along side their American comrades in arms. The ties of commerce, friendship and in many cases, family, between Americans and Canadians are undimished. Indeed, they have never been stronger.
The government of Canada is confident that shared values, geography and common interests will ultimately overcome protectionism. As we have constantly said, we will always protect Canadian workers and Canadian interests.
Minister Freeland is here to outline our retaliatory measures. This morning we contacted the opposition leaders to inform them of my response.
In closing, I want to be very clear on one thing. Americans remain our partners, our allies and our friends. This is not about the American people. We have to beleive that at some point, common sense will prevail. But we see no sign of that today—from this administration.”-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Trump continues to destroy what made America great. He attacks our foreign allies, world treaties, our enviornment, our American unity, our trust …. There doesn’t seem to be anything sacred left in America that he has not somehow tried to destroy. There simply are not enough negative adjectives to throw at him. A friend and colleague, Daily Kos featured writer Dartagnan expressed it well: By any definition, Trump is nothing short of evil.
Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland outlines the measures in a Notice of Intent. Here are the first two paragraphs/background:
On May 31, 2018, the United States (U.S.) announced the imposition of tariffs on imports of certain steel and aluminum products from Canada (at the rates of 25% and 10%, respectively).
In response to these measures, Canada intends to impose surtaxes or similar trade-restrictive countermeasures against up to C$16.6 billion in imports of steel, aluminum, and other products from the U.S., representing the value of 2017 Canadian exports affected by the U.S. measures. The Government is also considering whether additional measures may be required.
The list of Canadian tax increased products include everything from steal and iron for railroad construction, to household appliances, to chocolate and felt-tipped pens. Minister Freeland adds:
“This is the strongest trade action Canada has taken in the post-war era," Freeland said. "It is perfectly reciprocal. This is a very strong Canadian action in response to a very bad U.S. decision."