ALBAWABA - The U.S. and Canada have been going back and forth in negotiations regarding tariffs on imports and exports on both sides – talks fell apart on Friday and now threaten to spillover into a trade war between the longtime allies.
Each side blames the other for the negotiations falling through, consequently, the U.S. will be imposing a 50 percent tariff on $20 billion dollars worth of Canadian goods; Canada is set to retaliate with its own tariffs on September 8th.
Both longtime allies are well aware of the trade weaknesses they each possess, U.S. targeted 5 percent of what it imports from Canada from hockey sticks to tongue depressors, while Canada hit back on with tariff protections mainly on steel products, mentioning also the dairy, appliance, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics sectors.
Canada’s PM Carney has said that the U.S. is using tariffs as a weapon against its economy, saying that Canada has been “attacked” by the tariffs, adding “You’re at war when you get attacked,”
On the other hand, Trump’s chief negotiator with Canada, Jamieson Greer, said:
“We’ve said enough, and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains,” to Fox & Friends Weekend.
Carney was undeterred, saying: “they [the US] asked too much and offered too little,” adding that “America has changed” and that their relationship will never be the same, “[We will] not return to our old relationship,” he said.
