Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that his administration is prepared to react and “everything is on the table” if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports starting February 1.
The Canadian leader’s warning comes a day after Trump repeated his warning to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico on February 1, while accusing the two neighboring countries for not preventing illegal immigration and drugs from entering the US.
“We’re thinking in terms of 25 per cent on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people — Canada’s a very bad abuser also — vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
In reply to the remarks, Trudeau stated at a press conference on Tuesday that his administration has taken action to tackle Trump’s issues with a comprehensive border plan exceeding $1 billion.
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Recognizing that the new President’s method introduces uncertainty, Trudeau also stated that “Canada supplies numerous essential resources that the American economy requires for growth and prosperity.”
In response to Trump’s statement that the US doesn’t require anything from Canada, Trudeau remarked that if the new president genuinely intends to bring about a “golden age of America,” as claimed in his inaugural address, he will require essential natural resources from Canada. According to Trudeau, this provides Canada with certain leverage.
Prior to his second term at the White House, Trump had pledged to increase tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as add a 10 percent tariff on Chinese products, if those countries did not take further action against illegal immigration and the influx of fentanyl into the US.
