SYDNEY, N.S. — Limiting the size of a trade war with the U.S. — Canada’s most important economic partner, where approximately 70 per cent of the country’s exports are shipped annually — is of the utmost importance to federal politicians performing the delicate tight-wire act in dealing with unpredictable, confrontational U.S. president Donald Trump.
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs come into effect on Sunday. It was in response to Trump slamming Canada, Mexico and Europe with 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum to the U.S.
Trump initially spared Canada and Europe from those tariffs earlier this year but with negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement stalled, the tariffs took effect June 1.
The reaction has been to slap $16.6-billion in tariffs on a wide-range of U.S. goods entering the country. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will announce the final list of retaliatory tariffs at a steel plant in Hamilton, Ont. today.
Mark Eyking, chair of the House of Commons committee on international trade, said it has always been the federal government’s position to take a “reactive” approach to tariffs rather than being naturally proactive.
It’s why there was no clear response from Ottawa when Trump mused in a tweet earlier this month followed by further threats he would impose crippling 25 per cent tariffs on Canada’s auto industry, the economic engine of Ontario.
While it’s impossible to predict whether Trump will even tweet about the tariffs imposed this weekend with trade wars with the European Union and China on the horizon, there’s hope senior Congressional politicians in border states with Canada will put pressure on Trump to pull back, Eyking said.
“Maybe this is going to be a bit of a wakeup call to the Americans once these duties start hitting on them,” he said Thursday in an interview with the Post.
“As Canadians, we’re totally awake as to what’s going on. I don’t think the majority of Americans are totally awake or totally conscious of what’s really going to happen if we go into an all-out trade war. But we’re not there yet.”
On Tuesday, Eyking and members of the House of Commons trade committee met for a second day with representatives from the metal sector and auto industry and their unionized workers.
Eyking told The Canadian Press the meeting represented a show of solidarity aimed at Americans and to gain first-hand knowledge on what companies are experiencing in their respective sectors.
He reiterated his message Thursday at a funding announcement to support local companies entering the export market that trade relations remain tense with respect to tariffs but also the current state of the NAFTA talks.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently linked the tariffs to the slow pace of renegotiating a new continental free trade pact.
“With the challenges we’re facing now with NAFTA, it’s just been a tough, tough slugging,” Eyking told the crowd assembled at the Cape Breton Partnership office in Sydney.
“But we’re going to keep working at it. It’s still our number one market and it’s something we have to take care of.”
Twitter: @cbpost_chris