Canada looks to ride out trade storm
OTTAWA — Canada moved to tamp down spiking tensions with the United States on Tuesday, brushing aside a warning by US President Donald Trump that it will pay for Justin Trudeau’s G7 summit remarks.
Trudeau struck a steady-as-he-goes pose after Trump’s latest dig, saying: “I’m going to stay focused on defending jobs for Canadians and supporting Canadian interests.”
And Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is traveling to Washington on Wednesday to try to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement, also emphasized the need for calm.
“From day one, we have said that we expected moments of drama and that we would keep calm and carry on throughout this drama,” she said.
But a source close to Trudeau said Canada was “prepared for all eventualities”.
“If the US decides to apply new tariffs, Canada will be ready,” the official said.
Bitter differences over trade dominated the summit Trudeau hosted over the weekend, with other leaders of the G7 group lining up against Trump’s threats to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Trump refused to sign a joint statement issued at the end of the summit, and he and his top aides assailed Trudeau, accusing him of dishonesty and betrayal.
Trudeau had said using national security as a justification for tariffs was “kind of insulting” to Canadian veterans who had stood by their US allies in conflicts dating back to World War I.
“Canadians are polite and reasonable but we will also not be pushed around,” he said.
The bust-up has sent relations between the two neighbors to a new low.
On Tuesday, Trump barely let up, telling reporters in Singapore, after his summit with Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, that while the G7 summit was “good” Trudeau’s critical comments would cost Canada “a lot of money”.
The only hint of a softening came when Peter Navarro, the White House economic adviser, apologized for saying there was a “special place in hell” for Trudeau.
“I used language that was inappropriate,” Navarro said.
Canadian politicians of all stripes have rallied around Trudeau, unanimously passing a motion Monday supporting the prime minister and denouncing Trump’s personal attacks on him.
It is unfortunate that there is now “so little trust” in this most important relationship, said University of Montreal professor Frederic Merand.
Canada’s economy is heavily reliant on free trade with the United States, with some 75 percent of its exports going to its southern neighbor. Significant foreign investment in Canada is also linked to its access to the US market.