Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the new 25% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on his country are “very dumb.” (Credit: Reuters)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to speak with President Donald Trump today after calling his tariffs “very dumb,” a source told FOX Business.
The source said Trump will also speak with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum tomorrow following the tariffs he imposed on her country.
Trudeau slammed Trump’s new 25% tariffs on Canada Tuesday, vowing that “we will not back down from a fight.”
“I want to speak directly to one specific American. Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things,” Trudeau said during a press conference Tuesday. “And now we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world. Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal. But Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. We – two friends fighting – is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.”
TRUMP’S LATEST TARIFFS: HERE IS WHAT WILL COST CONSUMERS MORE
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attend a NATO summit in December 2019 in Watford, England. Trudeau on Tuesday called Trump’s new tariffs on Canada “very dumb.” (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trudeau has announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on American goods in response to Trump’s tariffs, which went into effect yesterday morning.
Trump said following Trudeau’s remarks Tuesday that “when he puts a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!”
Trudeau added during his press conference that he is “always there” to talk with Trump “about the importance of working together to take on the world at this time.”
“The facts show very clearly that in terms of taking action on fentanyl, we are doing everything that is necessary. And not just for the United States, for ourselves as well as Canadians are suffering as well from the scourge that is illegal fentanyl,” he also said.
LUTNICK SAYS TRUMP TARIFF WITH CANADA, MEXICO LIKELY ENDS WITH MEETING IN THE MIDDLE, POSSIBLE DEAL SOON
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference while responding to President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian imports, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 1. (Reuters/Patrick Doyle / Reuters)
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signaled a possible agreement between the Trump administration and leaders of Canada and Mexico that could see some of the tariffs imposed on both nations rolled back.
During a Tuesday appearance on FOX Business’ “Kudlow,” Lutnick told host Larry Kudlow that Trump will likely look to meet America’s neighbors in the middle with a focus on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was created to create fairer trade between the nations.
“He’s really looking carefully at that trying to figure out if there is a way in there that he can come in the middle, where he can give the Canadians and Mexicans something, but they have to got do more,” he told Kudlow. “They’ve got to end fentanyl death. You can’t just say it’s OK that people can die. That is just not a thing.”
People browse a grocery store following the announcement of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 4. (Reuters/Arlyn McAdorey / Reuters)
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“It’s not gonna be a pause. None of that pause stuff. But I think he’s going to figure out, you do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle someway,” he added. “We’re going to probably be announcing that tomorrow. So somewhere in the middle will likely be the outcome — the president moving with the Canadians and Mexicans but not all the way,” he added.
FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
