Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed President Trump’s tariffs on his country, reiterating a message from The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board that the taxation plan was “dumb.”
“Now, I want to speak directly to one specific American,” Trudeau said Tuesday in an address. “Donald, in the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things. We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things together on the world stage, as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations. And now, we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.”
Trump trade war intensifies as tariffs go into place
Trudeau then highlighted a recent op-ed from the Journal’s editorial board that said Trump’s tariff plan was the “dumbest tariff plunge” that is hurting the country’s friends.
“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,” Trudeau said.
The Prime Minister urged the U.S. president to see that the neighboring, allied countries fighting is exactly what international adversaries want to see.
Trudeau then addressed his fellow Canadians, who will experience economic disruption as the flow of goods between countries will spike prices.
“I won’t sugar coat it, this is going to be tough, even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do,” he said. “We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm.”
Some goods in the crosshairs of Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China
Trudeau promised that the Canadian government will protect its citizens and Canadian businesses from attacks and takeovers from the tariffs.
“We will stand up for Canadians every single second of every single day, because this country is worth fighting for,” he concluded.
