Canada PM says he doubts Trump would want to impose auto tariffs

[webfact]

Canada PM says he doubts Trump would want to impose auto tariffs

By David Ljunggren and Allison Lampert

 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, June 20, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

 

OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said he doubted whether U.S. President Donald Trump would carry out a threat to impose tariffs on autos, given the economic damage such a move would cause.

 

Trump has already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada on national security grounds and is threatening similar punitive measures against autos, which would badly hurt the Canadian economy.

 

Trudeau told a news conference that given the closely integrated nature of the North American auto industry, any action against Canada would hurt U.S. companies and workers.

 

"I have a hard time accepting that any leader might do the kind of damage to his own auto industry that would happen if he were to bring in such a tariff on Canadian auto manufacturers," he said in his most expansive comments on the topic to date.

 

Canada is considering all options, including providing financial aid to the auto industry if necessary.

 

Canadian officials say they believe Trump is using the threat in a bid to wrest concessions from Canada at slow-moving talks to update the North American Free Trade Agreement.

 

Relations between the two leaders hit a new low this month after a Group of Seven summit when Trump - taking exception to what Trudeau had said about tariffs - called the Canadian leader weak and dishonest.

 

Trudeau shrugged off the attack, saying there would always be challenges in the bilateral relationship.

 

"As politicians we develop thick skins and I stay focused on what we need to do to advance the common causes we have. I'm not going to react to personal comments," he said.

 

Earlier in the day, in a sign tensions might be easing, a senior official welcomed comments by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the effect that Canadian steel did not pose a direct security threat.

 

Ross, speaking to a U.S. Senate committee, said Washington was most concerned about overall steel imports.

 

"I was pleased to see, according to reports, Secretary Ross acknowledged that Canadian steel does not pose a security threat to the United States," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in Montreal.

 

Ross linked the tariffs to progress in the NAFTA talks, which have stalled as Canada and Mexico balk at far-reaching U.S. demands for change.

 

Freeland predicted there would be moments of drama ahead while saying she remained confident the three nations could still strike a deal.

 

(Additional reporting by Matt Scuffham in Toronto; Editing by James Dalgleish)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-06-21

[DoctorG]

Hope Canadians have the sense to dump Eyebrows Turdoo at the next election.

[blazes]

17 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Hope Canadians have the sense to dump Eyebrows Turdoo at the next election.

 

If not, honest Canucks will have to apply for asylum in the US of A...

[JCauto]

45 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

If not, honest Canucks will have to apply for asylum in the US of A...

Oh really? Only Right-Wing Folk are honest, eh? Why waste time? You should go join your buddies down South as soon as you can, doubt they'll be in power there for much longer.

[blazes]

4 minutes ago, JCauto said:

Oh really? Only Right-Wing Folk are honest, eh? Why waste time? You should go join your buddies down South as soon as you can, doubt they'll be in power there for much longer.

 

Alas, the choices for an honest Canuck are very narrow:  a brainless Greenie PM spending 5 billion of taxpayers' money on a pipeline OR a brainless AND narcissistic moron who wants to spend 86 billion more of taxpayers etc etc on the military.

 

Looks like I'll have to apply for asylum in some place where ....etc etc

[Tug]

Hey Trudeau can you come down here and help us out ha ha anyway don’t be so sure Donald Isent that bright in case you haven’t noticed maybe we will get lucky and he will have a stroke!!

[bristolboy]

I disagree with Trudeau. Trump would love to impose tariffs on autos from Canada. The question is whether or not he will.

[BuaBS]

Trump has other things on his mind . Trudeau who ?

[mtls2005]

4 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

Trump has other things on his mind . Trudeau who ?

 

He only has eyes for Ivanka.

 

 

Who knows what Fat Nixon will do tomorrow?

 

If Fox News, in this case, Stuart Varney, tells him he should slap tariffs on Canadian autos he will.

 

 

[spidermike007]

More than likely the brain dead, unstable, hell bent, tariff crusading Trump, will continue raising taxes on his base (by imposing tariffs) and all of the US, and completely lose the support of his donors in the process, who are big business types, and will not tolerate such infantile nonsense. A trade war is likely. The problem with Captain Chaos, is he has no ability to discern when he pushes too far. His pathology of hatred prevents that. He literally does not have a clue. And he is being advised by morons like Navarro, who completely overestimate the power, influence, and importance of America, in the world order today, and just assume by bullying the world around, their objectives can be met. All of this reminds me alot of the level of ignorance and hubris Cheney demonstrated, prior to the invasion of Iraq. 

 

America has never been less relevant, since WWII. And it is becoming less relevant by the day, due to this incompetent leader.

 

Tiny D. Moving America backwards in time. Making sure America never becomes great again. The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life.

[CanuckThai]

Oh, for God's sake, I hope Trudeau et al have a game plan, and they're not assuming.   Plan "B's" and their "B game" is getting old...

Edited June 21, 2018 by CanuckThai
penmanship

[charmonman]

3 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Hope Canadians have the sense to dump Eyebrows Turdoo at the next election.

I am curious. Are you Canadian? The majority of Canadians, even the Trumpesque Doug Ford And former PM Stephen Harper, have come out with statements of support for Trudeau in the idiotic feud that Trump started.

 

All Trump has accomplished is solidifying support for Trudeau within Canada

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"I have a hard time accepting that any leader might do the kind of damage to his own auto industry that would happen if he were to bring in such a tariff on Canadian auto manufacturers,"

You'd think that Trudeau by now understands that the only damage Trump fears is to his own ego, his supremacy in everything. He has no loyalty to anyone and that includes the American people outside his cult.

"I'm one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it's true!" - Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/02/09/president-trump-is-smarter-than-you-just-ask-him/?utm_term=.88ffea3c9876 

Any blow-back Trump gets from the news media and detractors for any of his Canadian tariffs will be deflected to blaming the Democrats and Obama. Trump doesn't do responsibility for failure.

[spidermike007]

14 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Webfact stated- "I have a hard time accepting that any leader might do the kind of damage to his own auto industry that would happen if he were to bring in such a tariff on Canadian auto manufacturers,"

 

You'd think that Trudeau by now understands that the only damage Trump fears is to his own ego, his supremacy in everything. He has no loyalty to anyone and that includes the American people outside his cult.

"I'm one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it's true!" - Trump

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/02/09/president-trump-is-smarter-than-you-just-ask-him/?utm_term=.88ffea3c9876 

Any blow-back Trump gets from the news media and detractors for any of his Canadian tariffs will be deflected to blaming the Democrats and Obama. Trump doesn't do responsibility for failure.

I think the first quote assumes that Trump is sane and rational. I do not believe he is either. 

 

The psychiatrist who briefed Congress on Trump’s mental state: this is “an emergency” - Vox

 

I have been saying for some time that cheeto may be the most dangerous man in the world. This shrink, who is an expert on pathology that leads to violence, seems to agree. 

 

His trip to Asia brought a lot of ceremonial deference and customs of flattery that kept him doing better for a while. But that indicated a greater danger to us — that someone [was] that susceptible to fawning pointed to instability that would make him more volatile when he returned. And that’s exactly what happened. 

When he returned and faced the progress of the special counsel’s investigation, he became more paranoid, returning to conspiracy theories that he had let go of for a while. He seemed to further lose his grip on reality by denying his own voice on the Access Hollywood tapes.

Also, the sheer frequency of his tweets seemed to reflect the frantic state of mind he was entering, and his retweeting some violent anti-Muslim videos showed a concerning attraction to violence. And then there were the belligerent nuclear threats this week.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/5/16770060/trump-mental-health-psychiatrist-25th-amendment

Edited June 21, 2018 by spidermike007

[taipan1949]

On 6/21/2018 at 9:15 AM, blazes said:

 

If not, honest Canucks will have to apply for asylum in the US of A...

I joined the USMC in 1968 to get away from the idiots.

[taipan1949]

On 6/21/2018 at 10:52 AM, Tug said:

Hey Trudeau can you come down here and help us out ha ha anyway don’t be so sure Donald Isent that bright in case you haven’t noticed maybe we will get lucky and he will have a stroke!!

I guess you haven't noticed that he has welcomed back ISIS murderers to Canada to start their planning of murders and rapes? He also paid a muslim murderer 10 million dollars. His minister for Immigration is a muslim from Somali, does Michigan not have enough Somalis? 

[taipan1949]

America is being abused by Canada and every other trading country. Trump needs to fight back.