Washington DC [US], August 26 (ANI): The White House on Tuesday (local time) accused Canada of “ripping off” the United States for decades, saying President Donald Trump is “finally ending Canada’s free ride” and will no longer accept “discriminatory” Canadian trade practices.
The White House said the United States had offered Canada “the most preferential market access of any country on Earth” last week, with deep cuts on steel, aluminium, autos, lumber and other goods. However, it said Canada responded with “unreasonable demands, walk-backs, and flat-out rejection.”
“Canada has been ripping off the United States for decades –and President Donald J. Trump is done letting them get away with it,” the White House said.
The White House accused Canada of choosing retaliation over negotiation, saying it was “joined only by the People’s Republic of China” in doing so, while alleging that continued Canadian trade restrictions had burdened American workers, farmers and businesses.
The White House said Canada alone had imposed discriminatory 25 per cent tariffs and company-specific quotas on US motor vehicles, measures it said were applied to no other country. It said US vehicle exports to Canada consequently fell 22 per cent over the last year.
The White House also said that Canada had banned American wine, beer and spirits in nearly every province and territory, resulting in an 81 per cent decline in US alcohol exports to Canada in a single year.
On dairy, the White House said Canada “locks out U.S. dairy” through tariff-rate quotas that are more restrictive than those granted to Europe, along with over-quota tariffs of nearly 300 per cent.
The White House further said that Canada had extracted a persistent average annual goods trade deficit of roughly USD 50 billion from the United States over the last decade while refusing reciprocal access.
On the aerospace sector, the White House said Canada had targeted American manufacturer Gulfstream for years.
“They effectively prohibited the sale of its G500, G600, G700, and G800 models while shielding its own competitor — until President Trump intervened,” the White House said.
The White House said Canada’s protectionist barriers, including auto quotas, alcohol restrictions and dairy barriers, had cost American producers billions of dollars in lost sales, forced layoffs and driven market share toward foreign competitors.
It also claimed that roughly three-quarters of Canada’s goods exports go to the United States, arguing that the Canadian economy is heavily dependent on the American market.
“Without the United States, Canada could not survive,” the White House said.
The White House also pointed to a recent survey which it said found that 42 per cent of Canadian manufacturers had already moved or were planning to move production to the United States.
It further said Canada had announced an additional USD 27.6 billion in tariffs targeting American businesses, including a 50 per cent tariff on American steel and aluminium and 25 per cent tariffs on American fish and tools.
“The U.S. economy is approximately 13 times larger than the Canadian economy and home to over eight times as many people. The United States has the clear leverage,” the White House said.
The White House cited Trump as saying, “Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable. They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!”
In separate posts on Truth Social, Trump reiterated his criticism of Canada’s trade policies.
“Over the last 10 years, the United States lost, on average, 60 Billion Dollars a year with Canada. No more!,”Trump said.
In another post, Trump said, “Canada has been ‘Ripping Off’ the U.S.A. for decades. They have been charging our Farmers 400% Tariffs, and more. They have driven many wonderful U.S. companies out of business. They have driven many wonderful U.S. companies out of business.”
Trump also reiterated his claims concerning Gulfstream, saying, “For 10 years they wouldn’t certify Gulfstream Jets, until I got involved. They wanted 100% of the market for Gulfstream’s Canadian competitor.”
“I deal with many countries, and Canada is easily the most difficult and unreasonable. They feel entitled, but they are not a State, and will be entitled no longer!” Trump said.
The White House said Canadian leadership had “chose retaliation over partnership” and declared that “America is no longer willing to carry them.”
His remarks come as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday (local time) said that Canada will match the new US tariffs dollar for dollar and introduce USD 7.5 billion in new and enhanced measures to support Canadian workers and businesses.
In a post on X, Carney said, “Canada will match the new U.S. tariffs dollar for dollar. In addition, we are introducing $7.5 billion in new and enhanced measures to support Canadian workers and businesses. That builds on the nearly $25 billion in supports introduced since the implementation of the U.S. unjustified tariffs.”
https://x.com/MarkJCarney/status/2092304340295819394
Carney said the measures were aimed at defending Canadian jobs, industries and families. “Defending Canadian jobs, industries, and families,” he said.
Meanwhile, Canada on Tuesday (local time) announced dollar-for-dollar, rate-for-rate counter-tariffs on US goods in response to Washington’s decision to impose a 50 per cent tariff on USD 27.6 billion of Canadian goods, according to the Department of Finance Canada news release.
The escalation follows the United States imposing 50 per cent tariffs on roughly USD 20 billion worth of Canadian imports after the trade talks failed, with the measures affecting around five per cent of Canada’s exports to the United States. (ANI)
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