WASHINGTON — As U.S. President Donald Trump added to his growing list of tariff targets Friday — this time it’s imported automobiles — Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey said it was “chilling” to hear a top White House adviser say Trump is serious about annexing Canada.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the automobile duties would come into effect around April 2 — his latest move to disrupt the global economy and chart an increasingly protectionist path forward.
News of the automobile levies came after Trump signed an order Thursday to implement “reciprocal tariffs,” raising U.S. duties to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports. Those levies also could come into force early April.
The president’s enthusiasm for tariffs has led to a swelling inventory of possible duties since Trump’s return to the White House less than a month ago — and Canada has found itself caught in the crosshairs.
All 13 premiers travelled to Washington this week — the first such joint delegation of first ministers to D.C. — where they met with two White House advisers who promised to bring their message directly to the president.
James Blair, White House deputy chief of staff, said later Wednesday that they “never agreed that Canada would not be the 51st state.”
Furey said he left the U.S. capital very aware that the president was launching an attack not just on Canada’s economy but on its sovereignty.
“It’s discouraging when I hear the words come out of the deputy chief of staff to the White House’s mouth that (Trump is) not joking when he says the 51st state. I wouldn’t be Canadian if I wasn’t discouraged by that,” Furey said on CPAC Friday. “That is upsetting. It’s offensive and insulting.”
The premiers’ diplomatic push came during a month-long pause on Trump’s plan to hit Canada and Mexico with 25 per cent across-the-board duties, with a lower 10 per cent levy on Canadian energy.
The president last week signed executive orders to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including Canadian products, starting March 12.
“The tariffs are going to save a lot of industries,” Trump said Friday when asked about U.S. industries concerned about mounting duties.
During the first Trump administration, the president slapped a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports, triggering a trade war which saw Canada and other countries impose their own duties on the U.S.
A deal was reached with Canada ending the trade dispute nearly a year later — after significant costs were incurred on both sides of the border.
Trump’s return to power is already having an impact on business and employment in Canada, said Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske.
“We’ve already heard of some employers laying off staff,” she said. “We’ve already heard of some employers taking a pause in their production to assess what is really happening and to wait out what that news might be.”
Bruske was also in Washington this week meeting with U.S. and Canadian labour leaders to come up with strategies to push back on Trump’s tariff agenda. They all recognize the next four years under Trump are going to be “an incredibly rough ride,” she said.
Canadian workers need to know what Ottawa is planning to do to shore up the social safety net, Bruske said.
At a steel plant in Hamilton, Ont. on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told workers “it’s a bit of a challenge right now.”
“There’s a bit of uncertainty, but as you’re seeing from coast to coast to coast, people are standing up for Canadian workers, standing up strong. We’re pushing back,” Trudeau said at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant.
An all-hands-on-deck approach is critical, said Rebecca Bligh, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Bligh was in Washington this week, where she pushed the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities to rally against the duties.
She said she heard concerns about the ongoing volatility from her American counterparts. Municipal governments in both countries are often on the front lines of a crisis, as was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“We all have something to gain and also to lose. We need to focus our efforts,” she said.
After reflecting on the premiers’ diplomatic effort in Washington, Furey said it’s time to re-evaluate the Team Canada strategy. Canada needs to draw a line in the sand, the premier said.
“And we cannot let the president erode that line or else there will be no sand, there will be no beach,” Furey said.
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