Trump Could Trigger Biggest Trade War in Decades, Canada Warns
Canadian FM Melanie Joly, 2025. X/ @AM800CKLW
January 17, 2025 Hour: 1:04 pm
Canadian FM Joly sought to explain ‘what is at stake’ in several meetings in Washington.
On Friday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly warned that the tariffs Donald Trump wants to impose on Canada would initiate the largest trade war between the two countries in decades.
RELATED:
Canadian PM Trudeau Outlines Retaliatory Tariffs
Joly, who is in Washington to try to prevent the imposition of these tariffs, pointed out that protectionism would cause severe problems for the Canadian economy but would also have a significant impact on U.S. consumers.
“I don’t want to go into detail about the figures. But we have numbers that show it would be devastating. The United States would start a trade war with us that would be the biggest between Canada and the U.S. in decades,” she explained.
During her visit to Washington, Joly sought to explain “what is at stake” in several meetings with Trump’s future cabinet members and Republican leaders such as Lindsey Graham and Jim Risch.
“People in Washington are surprised when I point out the impacts of Trump’s tariff proposal. Not only surprised but also concerned,” the Canadian minister said, noting that many of those individuals were unaware of the cost the tariffs would impose on U.S. consumers.
Joly explained that while Canada is acting in an organized way to prevent the tariffs or to design a response strategy, in the United States, “there is a level of disorganization,” partly due to the transition process between President Joe Biden’s administration and that of President-elect Donald Trump.
On Friday, Toronto hosted the first meeting of the Canada-U.S. Relations Council, which was announced last week by PM Justin Trudeau. The council’s mission is to advise the prime minister on bilateral relations and is composed of 18 individuals, mostly business, labor, and political leaders from Canada.
At the start of the council’s meeting, Trudeau stated that Canada wants to be prepared for “the challenge” posed by the Trump administration. “The proposed tariffs will hurt Canadians but also millions of Americans,” he said.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
