I'm a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. I've been a student of business and politics all of my adult life, and in the 1990s wrote a number of position papers on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), passed in 1992 and replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020.
Free trade has always seemed like a good idea to me: free trade benefits both donsumers and businesses in Canada, the US and Mexico. A tariff is a tax, and it is NOT paid by the exporting country. The recent threat of retaliation by both Mexico and Canada is particularly frightening, This is a transcript of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's brilliant speech on Saturday, February 1:
"Tonight, first, I want to speak directly to Americans, our
closest friends and neighbours.
This is a choice that, yes, will harm Canadians, but beyond
that, it will have real consequences for you, the American people, as I have
consistently said, tariffs again against Canada will put your jobs at risk,
potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing
facilities, they will raise costs for you, including food at the grocery stores
and gas at the pump.
They will impede your access to an affordable supply of
vital goods crucial for us, security such as nickel, potash, uranium, steel and
aluminum, they will violate the free trade agreement that the President and I,
along with our Mexican partner, negotiated and signed a few years ago.
But it doesn't have to be this way, as President John F
Kennedy said many years ago, geography has made us neighbours. History has made
us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us
allies.
That rang true for many decades prior to President Kennedy's
time in office and in the decades since, from the beaches of Normandy to the
mountains of the Korean Peninsula, from the fields of Flanders to the streets
of Kandahar, we have fought and died alongside you during your darkest hours
during the Iranian hostage crisis, those 444 days, we worked around the clock
from our embassy to get your innocent compatriots home during the summer of
2005 when Hurricane Katrina ravaged your great city of New Orleans, or mere
weeks ago, when we sent water bombers to tackle the wildfires in California and
during the day, the world stood still, September 11, 2001 when we provided
refuge to stranded passengers and planes, we were always there standing with
you, grieving with you, the American people, together, we've built the most
successful economic, military and security partnership the world has ever seen,
a relationship that has been the envy of the world.
Yes, we've had our differences in the past, but we've always
found a way to get past them. As I've said before, if President Trump wants to
usher in a new golden age for the United States, the better path is to partner
with Canada, not to punish us.
Canada has critical minerals, reliable and affordable
energy, stable, democratic institutions, shared values and the natural
resources you need. Canada has the ingredients necessary to build a booming and
secure partnership for the North American economy and we stand at the ready to
work together.
Let's take a moment to talk about our shared border. Our
border is already safe and secure, but there's always, always more work to do.
Less than one per cent of fentanyl, less than one per cent of illegal crossings
into the United States come from Canada.
But hearing concerns from both Canadians and Americans,
including the American President himself, we're taking action.
We launched a $1.3 billion border plan that is already
showing results, because we too are devastated by the scourge that is fentanyl,
a drug that has torn apart communities and caused so much pain and torment for
countless families across Canada, just like in the United States, a drug that
we too want to see wiped from the face of this earth, a drug whose traffickers
must be punished as neighbors, we must work collaboratively to fix this.
Unfortunately, the actions taken today by the White House
split us apart instead of bringing us together.
Tonight, I am announcing Canada will be responding to the US
trade action with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American
goods.
This will include immediate tariffs on $30 billion worth of
goods as of Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on $125 billion worth of
American products in 21 days time to allow Canadian companies and supply chains
to seek to find alternatives.
Our response will also be far reaching and include everyday
items such as American beer, wine and bourbon, fruits and fruit juices,
including Orange Juice, along with vegetables, perfume, clothing and shoes,
it'll include major consumer products like household appliances, furniture and
sports equipment and materials like lumber and plastics, along with much, much
more.
And as part of our response, we are considering with the
provinces and territories, several non tariff measures, including some relating
to critical minerals, energy procurement and other partnerships.
We will stand strong for Canada. We will stand strong to
ensure our countries continue to be the best neighbors in the world.
With all that said, I also want to speak directly to
Canadians in this moment. I'm sure many of you are anxious, but I want you to
know we are all in this together, the Canadian government, Canadian businesses,
Canadian organized labor, Canadian civil society.
Canada's premiers and tens of millions of Canadians from
coast to coast to coast are united. This is Team Canada at its best.
I spoke with the President of Mexico. We committed to work
together to face them down.
I have something to ask Canadians, to be in solidarity
together. I ask you to be here for each other.
Now is also the time to choose Canada. There are many ways
for you to do your part. It might mean checking the labels at the supermarket
and picking Canadian made products.
It might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon,
or foregoing Florida orange juice altogether.
It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay
here in Canada and explore the many national provincial parks, historical sites
and tourist destinations our great country has to offer.
Support our manufacturers, our workers, entrepreneurs and
artists. It might mean doing all of these things, or finding your own way to
stand up for Canada in this moment, we must pull together, because we love this
country.
We pride ourselves on braving the cold during the long
winter months. We don't like to beat our chests, but we're always out there
waving the maple leaf loudly and proudly to celebrate an Olympic gold medal
city.
Canada is home to bountiful resources, breathtaking beauty,
the proud people who've come from every corner of the globe to forge a nation
with a unique identity, with embracing and celebrating.
We don't pretend to be perfect, but Canada is the best
country on Earth.
There's nowhere else that I and our 41 million strong family
would rather be, and we will get through this challenge just as we've been done
countless times before, together.
Thank you. Merci."
