By Breitbart News Network | Created at 2025-04-03 21:37:43 | Updated at 2025-04-04 17:12:41
22 hours ago
Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who assumed the top government role after the resignation of his radical leftist predecessor Justin Trudeau, vowed to “fight” the tariffs that President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday — which overwhelmingly did not affect Canada.
President Trump unveiled a long list of reciprocal tariffs on American trade partners on Wednesday, a day he branded “Liberation Day” for the American economy. The tariffs, he explained, were intended to target countries that levy high tariffs on American goods while enjoying nearly fully unencumbered access to the U.S. market.
Some of the countries targeted with the highest tariffs include Cambodia, which imposes tariffs and non-tariff barriers that the administration calculates amount to the equivalent of a 97 percent tariff on American goods; Vietnam, whose trade restrictions are equivalent to a 90 percent tariff; and Madagascar, which imposes the equivalent of a 93 percent tariff. These countries will now face 49 percent, 46 percent, and 47 percent tariffs on goods entering the United States, respectively.
Trump also highlighted communist China’s position on the list.
“China, 67 percent tariffs charged to the USA, including currency manipulation and trade barriers,” Trump explained during a press conference explaining the tariffs. “At 67 percent, we’re going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34 percent, in other words, they charge us, we charge them, we charge them less — how can anybody be upset?”
In Canada, Carney declared himself vocally upset by the tariffs. In a video statement for reporters, Carney promised he would “fight” the tariffs, without elaborating, and turn Canada into the “strongest economy in the G7.”
We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7,” he vowed. “In a crisis, it’s important to come together and it’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“President Trump has just announced a series of measures that are going to fundamentally change the international trading system,” Carney further asserted. “We are in a situation where there is going to be an impact on the U.S. economy which will build in time and in my judgment will be negative on the U.S. economy. That will have an impact on us.”
Absent from Carney’s statement is the fact that Canada was exempt from the new round of tariffs as it is a party to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), a trade deal Trump brokered during his first term. The White House clarified in a fact sheet that both Canada and Mexico are “unaffected” by the tariff order issued on Wednesday.
“This means USMCA compliant goods will continue to see a 0% tariff, non-USMCA compliant goods will see a 25% tariff, and non-USMCA compliant energy and potash will see a 10% tariff,” the White House explained.
In addition to the USMCA, a major reason that Canada is exempt from the new tariffs is that President Trump already imposed a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods in March, which does not apply to USMCA compliant goods, and a 50 percent tariff on aluminum and steel from Canada. These tariffs, Trump stated at the time, were not intended to level the economic playing field but, rather, to pressure Canada’s Liberal government to act to secure its border and limit fentanyl trafficking into the United States.
“In the event the existing fentanyl/migration IEEPA orders are terminated, USMCA compliant goods would continue to receive preferential treatment, while non-USMCA compliant goods would be subject to a 12% reciprocal tariff,” the White House noted on Wednesday.
The Canadian Globe and Mail newspaper observed on Wednesday that Trump’s new tariffs on other countries could “potentially [be] putting his neighbors at a competitive advantage if they stay within the bounds of the continental trade agreement.” Due to the exceptions in the new tariff orders, “a significant portion of Canadian and Mexican goods will continue to trade tariff-free, while other countries face a steep jump in duties.”
“In effect, Mr. Trump is forcing more North American trade to happen under the auspices of the USMCA, while making it prohibitively expensive for companies to export non-compliant goods to the U.S.,” the Globe and Mail explained.
Prime Minister Carney became the head of Canada’s government in March despite never having held public office or run in any election in his life after winning the internal election for Liberal Party leadership by a landslide. During his time in office, he has repeatedly made extreme statements about dismantling the longstanding friendly relationship between the United States and Canada.
“We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States,” Carney emphasized in remarks last week, insisting that the old relationship with America was “over.”
“Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy,” Carney promised Canadians. “We will need to ensure Canada can succeed in a drastically different world. The old relationship we had with the U.S. based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military co-operation is over.”
Hours after making these declarations, Carney held a phone call with Trump that the latter classified as “extremely productive” and friendly.
