It looks like Canada is getting some help standing up to the bully — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and several other world leaders are fighting back against Trump after his decision to slap aluminium and steel tariffs on close U.S. allies.
After months of trying to play nice, both Trudeau and Macron are now working together to strategize against Trump's 'unacceptable' actions. The two will meet in Ottawa before the G7 summit later this week to come up with a game plan in light of the recent U.S. metals crackdown.
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Trump's decision to end tariff exemptions for Canada, Mexico and Europe (including France) comes only 37 days after Macron visited him in Washington and warned him that the protectionist move could have dire consequences.
"Economic nationalism leads to war," Macron said. "This is exactly what happened in the 1930's."
Trudeau had a similar warning for Trump, also referring to history to make his case.
"These tariffs are an affront to the long-standing security partnership between Canada and the United States, and in particular, to the thousands of Canadians who have fought and died alongside American comrades-in-arms."
@seb_der_xOther leaders have spoken out as well, but in a less vocal manner (perhaps to avoid the inconvenience of having to deal with Trump directly). German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May have both condemned the tariffs, but sent representatives to deliver the message instead of making personal statements.
In response to Trump ignoring their advices, each of the U.S. allies retaliated with their own tariffs on U.S. products:
- Canada is imposing tariffs on $12.8 billion worth of U.S. products. These include everything from iron, non-alloy steel, food products, sweets, alcohols, grooming materials, household goods and much more. Multiple U.S. states will be significantly affected by this move.
- Mexico is levying import taxes on U.S. exports of various steels and food products, including pork bellies, blueberries, apples, grapes and cheeses.
- The EU has submitted a list of U.S. products to the WTO that could be slapped with tariffs, which includes food products like corn, rice, peanut butter and orange juice.
"We will continue to make arguments based on logic and common sense and hope that they eventually will prevail against an administration that doesn't always align itself around those principles," says Trudeau.