Freeland says Canada will retaliate with “dollar-for-dollar countermeasures.”
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (AKA the PM in all but title as Trudeau takes endless ‘personal days’) has issued a statement in response to the tariffs imposed on Canadian aluminum by US President Donald Trump:
“The August 6th announcement by the United States to impose tariffs on certain Canadian aluminum products, citing national security concerns, is unwarranted and unacceptable.
“Canadian aluminum does not undermine US national security. Canadian aluminum strengthens US national security and has done so for decades through unparalleled cooperation between our two countries. Canada is a reliable supplier of aluminum for American value-added manufacturers. Aluminum trade between Canada and the US has long been mutually beneficial economically for both countries, making the North American aluminum industry as a whole more competitive around the world.
“In the time of a global pandemic and an economic crisis, the last thing Canadian and American workers need is new tariffs that will raise costs for manufacturers and consumers, impede the free flow of trade, and hurt provincial and state economies.
“Further, with the new NAFTA having come into force on July 1st, now is the time to advance North American economic competitiveness — not hinder it. Through robust, new rules of origin for automobiles, the new NAFTA ensures 70 per cent of the aluminum purchased by North American automakers is produced in North America.
“Canada’s innovative aluminum industry provides approximately 10,000 well-paying direct jobs in primary aluminum production and supports tens of thousands more in related downstream sectors. The Government of Canada will always stand up for our aluminum workers across the country. We did so when the US imposed aluminum tariffs in 2018 and we will stand up for them again now. I know we can once again count on a Team Canada approach as we confront these unjustified tariffs on Canadian aluminum.
“In response to the American tariffs, Canada intends to swiftly impose dollar-for-dollar countermeasures.”
Retaliating with reciprocal tariffs is the right move, as no country can allow another country to impose tariffs without responding, as that would be telegraphing weakness.
With that in mind though, it also seems a key issue – Chinese aluminum entering Canada and being re-labelled as ‘Canadian’ so it can be dumped into the US – is still a concern of some, though Trump notably neglected to mention that in his remarks, instead focusing only on Canadian aluminum. If the issue is Chinese aluminum, it’s odd that it wasn’t mentioned.
However, there is an even deeper issue here, which I discussed on Twitter:
“The best thing Canada could do to support our Aluminum Industry would be to decisively build up our Navy and Military. Yet, our politicians seem almost allergic to building our domestic economy, and remain obsessed with keeping us reliant on foreign trade.”
https://twitter.com/SpencerFernando/status/1291512454418018304
“There’s a recurrent pattern among our political class: They leave us dependent on foreign trade, then complain endlessly when (predictably) that dependence leaves us vulnerable to the whims of other countries. We need to build up our domestic economy!”
https://twitter.com/SpencerFernando/status/1291513702873628672
“The Liberal government has had nearly 5 years to move our country towards further self-sufficiency.
No progress.
Instead, as we saw with the CCP Virus, we are more dependent on foreign nations than ever before.
In a dangerous world, this makes Canada weak and vulnerable.”
https://twitter.com/SpencerFernando/status/1291515264798842880
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
