The Trump administration has warned Canada that a US trade war would have a “devastating” impact on its economy, as tensions between the two long-time trading partners deepen following the collapse of negotiations.
On Sunday, the Trump administration warned Canada that it would be “foolish” to assume it could prevail in a trade conflict with the United States, predicting a “devastating” impact on its northern neighbor.
Negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed late Friday, prompting the enforcement of new 50% U.S. tariffs targeting approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, which represents roughly 5.5% of Canada’s total exports to the U.S.
In response, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs set to take effect on September 8, primarily directed at the U.S. steel and dairy sectors.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that Canada stands to suffer significantly more by entering into a trade dispute with President Donald Trump.
Currently, almost 70% of Canadian exports go to the US.
“We’re great trading partners, right? But Canada gets the benefit of trading with the US way more than the US gets the benefit of trading with Canada,” he told the “Fox News Sunday” talk show.
“To think that they’re going to go to war with Donald Trump and actually win that war with the US, I think it’s foolish on their part.”
He predicted that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would return to the negotiating table “very, very quickly, because it’s going to be devastating for his country.”
As the rift between the longtime allies deepened, Carney expressed sharp frustration on Saturday, proposing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. after stepping away from what he characterized as a “bad deal” on trade.
Backstory…
The warning comes as the US trade war with Canada has entered a much more dangerous phase, following the collapse of trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa.
The Trump administration has now imposed 50% tariffs on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs from September 8. The latest escalation follows more than a year of tariff threats and negotiations over the future of the two countries’ deeply integrated trading relationship
Read Also: US Slaps 12.5% Tariff on Nigerian Imports, UK, Others
