U.S. President Donald Trump’s team is indicating he won’t hit Canada with damaging tariffs on his inauguration day.
It appears Trump is holding off on his tariff threat for now.
A Trump official — who insisted on anonymity while outlining the incoming president’s plans during a call with reporters — pointed to a Wall Street Journal report saying Trump would only sign a memorandum telling federal agencies to study trade issues, including alleged unfair trade and currency practices by Canada, Mexico and China.
After two months of political consternation over Trump’s plans for his country’s relationship with Canada, the Republican leader’s inaugural speech marking his return to the White House on Monday did not mention America’s northern neighbour.
Trump’s speech offered no clarity on the status of his threat to impose a 25 per cent across-the-board tariff on Canadian products on day one of his new administration — part of a massive agenda aimed at leading a deeply divided U.S. on a starkly different path.
Trump’s team reportedly has prepared more than 100 executive orders. It’s not clear what’s in those orders or how many of them will be signed immediately.
In a statement issued Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Trump on his inauguration and cited Canada’s efforts to secure the border in response to the Republican leader’s demands for a crackdown on migrants and drugs.
“We are strongest when we work together,” Trudeau wrote.
“I look forward to working with President Trump, his administration, members of the United States Congress, and officials at the state and local levels to deliver prosperity for our peoples — while protecting and defending the interests of Canadians.”
“I think we want to see what the president decides to do,” Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., told Bloomberg News last week. “Canada will be ready for whatever comes our way.”
Trudeau has said repeatedly that Canada is ready to respond with countermeasures if Trump makes good on his tariff threat.
Two federal government sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about details of the federal counter-tariff plan say the government is waiting to see what Trump does before revealing its response.
The federal government has promised to pump $1.3 billion in new resources into border security over the next six years in the hopes of convincing Trump not to impose tariffs.
Trump initially tied the tariffs to concerns about border security but later seemed more concerned with the trade imbalance between Canada and the U.S.
As Trump begins his second term as president, federal cabinet ministers are gathering in Montebello, Que., Monday and Tuesday to discuss the tariff threat.
Prime Minister Trudeau met with the country’s 13 premiers last Wednesday to discuss possible retaliatory actions. At the end of those meetings, he and 12 premiers released a statement pledging to present a united front to their American counterparts.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opted out, saying she could not support any retaliation plan that included measures affecting oil and gas.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday the tariff threat still needs to be taken seriously, despite the news that Trump is expected to hold off.
“He’s just adding more uncertainty, (saying) ‘I may not do it today, I’ll do it tomorrow. Maybe I’ll do it in a month.’ That doesn’t help,” Ford told CityNews. “So we’re going to take him serious.”
The head of Canada’s largest private-sector union said she’s skeptical of the reports saying Trump won’t proceed with tariffs, given how he imposed tariffs during his first administration.
“No one should be breathing a sigh of relief at all right now,” Unifor president Lana Payne said Monday morning.
Payne said the “constant threat of tariffs” undermines investment and constantly puts Canada’s economy in danger. She said the solution is to invest in industrial plans for Canadian manufacturing, put supports in place to prepare for job losses and collaborate across political parties, business and organized labour.
“We have to come together in a profound way over the next four years to make sure that we’re guarding against any future threat, but also making sure that we’ve got our act together in Canada,” she said. “It’s not going to stop here. The demands are going to grow.”
Canada has multiple options for retaliatory tariffs ready to go depending on what Trump ultimately does. If Trump sets the tariffs at 25 per cent, Canada’s response would be to impose counter-tariffs worth roughly $37 billion, and possibly follow up with another $110 billion in tariffs.
If the duties are lower, Canada’s tariff response is expected to be more modest.
Hillman appeared on multiple American news programs last week to make the case that any type of trade war between Canada and the U.S. should be avoided.
“I’m really hopeful that we are not going to get to that place,” Hillman told Bloomberg News.
“It’s not good for the U.S., it’s not good for Canada. And there’s a lot of good things we can be doing together right now in energy and all sorts of other areas of trade.”
While Trump vowed during the election campaign to introduce broad tariffs, a new poll suggests there is limited support for them among Americans.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found almost half of U.S. adults oppose putting tariffs on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries — more than were in favour or were neutral on the question.
