Canada’s recent sabre-rattling on the issue of trade has fueled some headlines in the U.S., and President Donald Trump says he knows what is behind the latest tension between neighbors.

According to The Hill:

“Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!! They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of Tariffs. No more!!!” the president said in an early morning Truth Social post.

On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that his country would implement retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. starting on Sep. 8, responding to the Trump administration’s new 50 percent tariffs which just went into effect.

During a press conference, Carney said that Canada would “match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses.”

The prime minister said Ottawa would offer additional details about the retaliatory tariffs in the “coming days,” with the tariffs applying to goods including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics.

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His remarks sparked further social media discussion:

As The Guardian added:

His comments came after the US imposed 50% tariffs on $20bn (£14.6bn) worth of Canadian goods, while Mark Carney, the country’s prime minister, has vowed to match them “dollar for dollar”.

 

The US tariffs came into force on Saturday, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors. Trade experts have predicted that the tariffs could result in some job losses, but the biggest impact is expected to be political, triggering fresh tension between the neighbours.

Canadian trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, left, and US trade representative Jamieson Greer, speak to reporters in Washington DC on Friday.

Both sides blamed the other for the breakdown in talks on Friday. Carney told Canadian journalists that the country was “at war” over trade with the US, after Trump “miscalculated” by escalating his tariff attack.

“You’re at war when you’re attacked, and we got attacked,” the Canadian prime minister told reporters in Ottawa. “We cannot accept what they’ve offered and we will not give what they’ve asked.”

Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, has said the US was compelled to act after a year of retaliatory measures by Canada. He told Fox & Friends Weekend: “We’ve said enough and so we’ve taken countermeasures. Our interest is in protecting American workers and protecting American supply chains.”

Carney, who previously served as the governor of the Bank of England, was elected as Canada’s prime minister last year after campaigning to lead a fightback against Trump, who has previously suggested he wants to make Canada a 51st state with “economic force”.

Carney’s “dollar for dollar” tariffs are expected to take effect from 8 September, with new levies on steel, dairy, appliances and electronics. The escalation has also called into question the future of the North American trade pact between the US, Canada and Mexico, known as USMCA.

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Here’s some related coverage:

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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