The tough stance of Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Washington’s imposing new metal tariffs with no exception to Ottawa has surprised the commentators and got support even from the country’s opposition politicians. Trudeau has not only launched the country’s largest trade action, but also deployed a harsh word offensive, contrasting to the most of his previous line.
Before this, Trudeau had been considered cautious on the international affairs and amiable with Donald Trump since the beginning of his term. After the US announcement about a 25% tariff on imported steel and 10% duties on aluminum and just days before a G7 meet-up of world leaders, Trudeau didn’t beat around the bush and blamed the White House for their lack of “common sense.”
"We have to believe that at some point common sense will prevail, but we see no sign of that in this action today by the US administration."
He also gave way to his aversion to the recent measure on Twitter, slamming the trade measures.
Ottawa has introduced retaliatory tariffs against US products totaling 16.6 billion Canadian dollars ($12.8 billion). Since July 1, US steel and aluminum will be taxed with 25%fees, while consumer goods such as ketchup, orange juice, sailboats and washing machines will be liable for 10% duties. Canada also filed a pair of complaints to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel to address the US unilateral tariffs.
READ MORE: Canada's Response to Tariffs Could Affect US Swing States, Hurt GOP – Academic
The reaction didn’t wait too long. Donald Trump fired back with a Tweet, lambasting Canada’s stance on the trade.
Other Americans and Canadians on the contrary seemed to love the new, tougher version of Trudeau and applauded the move.
The support also came from Trudeau's political opponents.
However, the move hasn’t been agreeable with everyone.
University of Ottawa professor Patrick Leblond, cited by the French media outlet AFP, said Trudeau's recent swagger "will help the Liberals in the next election." Right before the showdown with Trump, keeping up with his tough guy line in the inner arena, Trudeau also decided to save the controversial Trans-Mountain pipeline project, which had been suspended by Texas-based investors.
His Liberal government approved a $4.5 billion plan to buy it, with potential billions’ cost for expansion in the name of energy security. Opposition parties slammed Trudeau for the move, which they claimed had potentially negative consequences for the environment and was a waste of taxpayers’ money. Protests against it kicked off.