Trudeau warns US tariffs on Canada would ‘hurt American workers’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that US workers would suffer the consequences of any tariffs or trade barriers imposed on Canadian goods by Washington.

“The interconnectedness between the supply chains in Canada and the United States, the reliableness of Canada as a partner to so many, and so much of the American economy, means that tariffs or a thickening of the border between Canada and the US will inevitably hurt American workers, American jobs as well,” Trudeau said Friday at a press conference in Vancouver.

The Canadian leader appealed in his comments directly to the interests of Donald Trump, whose strategy throughout his election campaign was to win over blue-collar workers. The president-elect said he’ll impose a minimum 10 per cent tariff on everything the US imports, and has not promised exemptions for Canada.

• Also read: Many supporters of Khalistan in Canada, but they do not represent Sikh Community: PM Trudeau

The policy could mean a 1.7 per cent hit to the US neighbour’s real GDP by the end of 2028, according to economists at Desjardins.

Trump said he wants a “pro-American trade policy that uses tariffs to encourage production here and bring trillions and trillions of dollars back home.”  

Trudeau reiterated on Friday that Canada is aligned with the US on tackling what he called “overcapacity” from China, with 100% tariffs on electric vehicles from the Asian nation and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum. 

“There’s an awful lot Canada and the US are going to be able to do together to successfully compete with the world,” Trudeau said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com