Liberal Leader Mark Carney on Wednesday vowed to “fight” against U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which he warned will “fundamentally change the global trading system.”
Trump’s unveiling of 10 per cent tariffs on imports from around the world and harsh additional levies on key trading partners ignited global anger, but for Canada the impact of the latest announcement was limited.
Previously announced U.S. levies on Canadian steel and aluminum remain in place. Canada may also be hit hard by Trump’s auto sector tariffs.
But America’s northern neighbour and largest trading partner was not singled out for additional tariffs Wednesday, and Canadian goods compliant with an existing North American free trade agreement appear exempt from new levies for now.
Carney noted that Trump’s latest announcement “preserved a number of important elements of our relationship, the commercial relationship between Canada and the United States.”
Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau last month, said Trump’s trade war will “negatively” impact the U.S. economy and will “directly affect millions of Canadians.”
“We are going to fight these tariffs with counter measures. We are going to protect our workers,” Carney said in Ottawa.
“In a crisis it is important to come together and it is essential to act with purpose and with force and that is what we will do,” he added.
Carney, a wealthy former investment banker who previously led the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, has called a general election for April 28.
Last week in a call with Trump, the pair agreed to discuss the future of bilateral trade after the election.
Polls currently project Carney’s Liberal Party will win a majority.
That would mark a stunning turnaround for a party that was badly trailing the opposition Conservatives in polls at the start of the year.
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