With President Donald Trump promising to impose a 35% tariff on Canadian goods starting August 1, U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington and British Columbia Premier David Eby are sounding the alarm.
The U.S. has already imposed a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, which Canada exports to the U.S.
“The trade war that we’re in right now,” Eby asserted at a virtual news conference Wednesday, “is a recipe for mutually assured destruction.”
Eby noted that the Trump administration has threatened or imposed tariffs on countries worldwide, referencing the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act — the U.S. trade policy widely seen as kicking off a global trade war that contributed to the Great Depression.
Murray pointed out that the growing trade dispute with Canada puts Washington in a particularly vulnerable position.
“We actually import nearly $18 billion in goods from Canada each year,” Murray said, pointing out the benefits go both ways. “Canada is one of our largest trading partners, accounting for, every year, nearly $8 billion in exports, including our seafood, apples, and airplane parts, and more than $2 billion in cross-border tourism and business.”
Canada pulls back from U.S. tourism
Eby said the trade war, and Trump’s suggestion that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, are already taking a toll on tourism from Canada.
“Cross-border visits from B.C. to Washington are down 35%,” he said.
Eby added that Canadians are boycotting some U.S. goods, including alcohol, calling it a “hard but necessary decision.”
A Canadian liquor trade group said sales of U.S. spirits dropped 66.3% between March 5 and April, according to Reuters.
Murray blames Trump’s tariff policies
Murray doesn’t blame Canada, but rather Trump’s tariff policies, and she supports legislation that would reassert congress’ authority over tariffs and trade policies.
“It’s very clear that Trump wants to treat tariffs like some reality TV show, constantly playing up the outrage and the uncertainty of the ‘will he won’t he’ drama that he seems to like living in,” she claimed.
Trump insists there has long been a trade imbalance between the U.S. and countries around the world, including its neighbor Canada.
He said tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and force our border countries, Canada and Mexico, to work harder to keep illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants from slipping into the U.S.
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