Ottawa must take Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canada “very seriously”, according to former Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
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In an interview with Mario Dumont, the former Conservative MP indicates that this threat is not a surprise, but that it requires a rapid response from the government.
“It’s something that had been telegraphed for quite a while,” he said. During the election (…) he said he would close the borders and stop immigration. I think the diplomat who is stationed is already familiar with this thing.”
“All in all, what concerns me is the slowness,” he adds. Is Canada dragging its feet? Mr. Trump dropped a first bomb, let’s say. There, Canada will have to move.”
Even if Donald Trump is not yet president and his tariffs remain a threat for the moment, the government must not take the situation lightly, according to him.
“I think he intends to do it and the threat should be taken very seriously. Donald Trump has always been able to carry out his threats. We saw it during his first term. I think that this time, he has an entourage who encourages him to do precisely this kind of thing.
“In the case of Donald Trump, he is an individual who comes from the business community, but he is also an individual who is used to obtaining what he wants by constantly threatening his counterpart,” continues- he.
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs believes that it would have serious consequences to wait before taking action to bring this matter before the courts.
“It is certain that there will be jurists who will say that under the free trade agreement that exists between Canada, Mexico and the United States, there will be legal recourse before the courts, but in the meantime (…) the Americans will collect 25% of our exports and we will wait three or four years before recovering the sums,” estimates Mr. Cannon.
Watch the full interview in the video above
