Trudeau dismisses 'very dumb' tariffs, says Trump wants to ruin Canadian economy

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told US President Donald Trump on Tuesday his tariffs on Canadian imports were “a very dumb thing to do” and said Ottawa was striking back immediately at its closest ally.

Trudeau, who is stepping down at the end of the week, also accused Trump of wanting to ruin the Canadian economy.

Speaking hours after Trump launched a trade war against Mexico and Canada, Trudeau announced immediate 25% tariffs on C$30bn (R348.07bn) worth of US imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125bn (R1.6-trillion) worth in 21 days' time, he said.

“There is no justification or need for these tariffs,” Trudeau told reporters, adding Canada would challenge the US measures at the World Trade Organisation and through a US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite, but we will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the wellbeing of everyone in it is at stake,” he said.

Trump responded by saying the Canadian retaliatory tariffs would be met with immediate reciprocal tariffs of the same size.

Trump has accused Canada of failing to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US, an argument Trudeau called “completely bogus, completely unjustified, completely false”.

Trudeau's relations with Trump, which have never been warm, deteriorated in recent months after the president repeatedly talked of Canada becoming the 51st US state and mockingly referred to Trudeau as its “governor” rather than prime minister.

Trump says he is unhappy with the trilateral US-Mexico-Canada trade deal he signed in his first term. Trudeau played down the idea of opening talks before a review scheduled for 2026.

“Given that he is choosing to want to ruin the Canadian economy, I don't know whether to bring forward negotiations, given the situation of such bad faith that we're in,” said Trudeau, who warned Canadians that tough times were coming.

Economists say Canada, which sends 75% of exports to the US, will plunge into a recession unless the tariffs are lifted quickly.

Trudeau said Americans would suffer as well, given how tightly the two economies are connected, and he referred to a Wall Street Journal editorial in late January that said Trump would be launching “the dumbest trade war in history” if he went ahead with tariffs.

“It's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that though you're a smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do,” said Trudeau, who will step down as prime minister after the governing Liberal Party chooses a new leader on Sunday.

The Canadian government will help by expanding employment insurance benefits and giving direct support to businesses, he said.

Finance minister Dominic LeBlanc told the country's premiers in a virtual meeting later in the day he will soon announce an initial package of support to mitigate the impact of US tariffs on Canadian workers, families and businesses, Trudeau's office said in a readout of the meeting.

Trudeau and the premiers also discussed ways to reduce internal trade barriers and labour mobility in Canada, according to the readout.

Trump's unprecedented actions threaten to severely damage relations between the three trading partners.

Trudeau said Canada would also look at non-tariff measures but did not answer directly when asked whether Ottawa might curb exports of crude oil or potash.

“Our focus has to be on getting these tariffs lifted as quickly as possible,” he said.

The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which was forged under Trump during his first term in the White House and which updated the North American Free Trade Agreement, allows duty-free trade between the three countries. The pact carries provisions for rules of origin for cars and car parts and steel-intensive products, among others, and also allows exceptions related to security.

Canada's two most populous provinces, Quebec and Ontario, are taking US alcohol off the shelves of provincially run liquor shops.

Ontario premier Doug Ford said if US tariffs persisted, the province would also impose a 25% surcharge on electricity exports to New York, Michigan and Minnesota.

“We need to make sure America feels the pain,” he said.

Tensions are so high that Canadian sports fans have begun booing US teams at ice hockey games.

“We're going to choose to try to buy Canadian products and forgo bourbon and other classic American products. And yeah, we're probably going to keep booing the American anthem,” Trudeau said.

“But let me tell Americans, we're not booing you, we're not booing your teams, we're not booing your players. We're booing a policy that is designed to hurt us. And we're insulted and we're angry, we're going to fight and we're going to win.”

Reuters