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Ottawa has warned it is going to impose “tit-for-tat” tariffs on American merchandise akin to metal and orange juice if Donald Trump goes forward together with his menace to impose a levy on Canadian imports.
Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of power and pure assets, mentioned Canada wished to co-operate with the US on going through down China however his nation wouldn’t stand by if the president-elect imposed doubtlessly devastating tariffs on its exports.
Wilkinson mentioned retaliatory tariffs would give attention to merchandise that will create “the greatest amount of angst in the United States with the least amount of pain in Canada” — doubtlessly metal from Michigan or orange juice from Florida.
Trump, who might be sworn in as US president on Monday, has mentioned he’ll impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports into the US.
However Wilkinson mentioned Ottawa was open to new co-operation with Washington, together with doubtlessly shopping for submarines and different navy gear, and creating extra essential mineral initiatives in Canada that will displace Chinese language merchandise from US provide chains, he mentioned.
“There are opportunities for us to procure a lot of the go-forward military equipment, like the submarines from the United States. And certainly, we are open to that as part of the broader conversation,” Wilkinson mentioned in an interview in Washington.
A combat over tariffs was a “distraction” from extra urgent points, he added.
“The challenge that we face internationally right now, it’s not Canada-US, it’s China,” Wilkinson mentioned. “It has strategic control of a number of different assets, and particularly true of critical minerals.”
He known as for the North American allies to “build an energy and minerals security partnership or alliance that actually enables us to both contribute to common outcomes”.
Final month, Beijing banned the export of a number of uncommon earths to the US in an escalation of a know-how battle. China controls a lot of the provide chain for uncommon earths, that are essential inputs for superior clear power and defence applied sciences.
Wilkinson’s go to to Washington — the place he’s assembly Republican politicians, business representatives and different stakeholders — is a part of Ottawa’s more and more frantic lobbying effort to steer the US president-elect to withstand imposing tariffs on Canada, which economists have warned would tip the nation’s economic system right into a recession.
In November, Trump proposed the 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada, accusing the US’s closest neighbours of failing to deal with unlawful migration and drug trafficking.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, on Wednesday mentioned “nothing is off the table” when it comes to a response to US tariffs.
“We have to have an equivocal response and will respond in a firm way,” he mentioned. “I support the principle of a $1 for $1 response”, however “am trying to prevent this and trying to get any tariff lifted as quickly as possible”.
Danielle Smith, the premier of oil-rich western province Alberta, who met Trump in Florida over the weekend, on Wednesday posted on X that she didn’t conform to any potential export tariffs on Canadian power or different merchandise, or any ban on exports to the US.
She wrote on X: “Federal government officials continue to publicly and privately float the idea of cutting off energy supply to the U.S. and imposing export tariffs on Alberta energy and other products to the United States. Until these threats cease, Alberta will not be able to fully support the federal government’s plan in dealing with the threatened tariffs.”
The US and Canadian economies are deeply intertwined. Canada’s oil business provides greater than half of US crude imports, and Washington has invested tens of million of {dollars} in Canadian essential mineral initiatives in an try to cut back reliance on Chinese language imports.
Wilkinson mentioned US tariffs on Canadian imports would harm US shoppers in addition to Canadians, pushing up the worth of gasoline and different very important items. “Where are they going to get potash? Where are they going to get uranium?” he mentioned. “Where are they going to get critical minerals? Are they really going to turn to China?”
Final week, Trump recommended he might use “economic force” to annex Canada, saying it will be “much better for national security”.
Wilkinson mentioned Canadians have been agitated by the remark, including Canada “would not become a 51st state”.
“We are a sovereign nation,” he mentioned. “Our national game is hockey, it’s not football or baseball. We go to Tim Hortons, we don’t go to Dunkin’ Donuts, and we have two languages, they are English and French . . . Canadians have no interest in being Americans.”
