Canada’s oil industry stressed the economic and security benefits of its exports to the U.S., while also using President-Elect Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on the country’s goods as a chance to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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The U.S. imports almost 4 million barrels of relatively cheap Canadian crude a day, an arrangement that allows the U.S. to export an even greater amount of its own higher-value oil while still meeting domestic demand. For Canada, energy products have accounted for about a third of its exports to the U.S. in recent years, the largest single category.
While oil and gas were excluded from tariffs in Trump’s first administration, his post on Monday said he would impose 25% tariffs on “ALL products” from Mexico and Canada on his first day in office.
“The Canada-U.S. energy partnership is more than 100 years old and is highly correlated to national security, energy security, economic security and geopolitical security,” Lisa Baiton, chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in an emailed statement. The tariffs would result in “higher gasoline and energy costs to American consumers while threatening North American energy security.”
The trade group also said Trump’s threat should prompt Trudeau to reconsider policy “that kills our biggest GDP generators and job creators,” including a proposed cap on oil and gas emissions.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith similarly said in a post that Trudeau should work with Trump — who said the tariffs were needed to clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs crossing the borders — to address his “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border.”
The premier, whose province produces the majority of Canada’s oil, stressed that Alberta’s energy exports to the U.S. travel through pipelines that don’t contribute to those illegal activities.
“As the largest exporter of oil and gas to the U.S., we look forward to working with the new administration to strengthen energy security for both the U.S. and Canada,” Smith said.
— With assistance from Jay Zhao-Murray.