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(Ottawa) The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal maintain that the new American president Donald Trump will not impose customs tariffs on Canada on the day of his inauguration, Monday.
Both major American newspapers write that Mr. Trump would instead sign an executive order on Monday to investigate alleged unfair trade and monetary practices by Canada, Mexico, and China.
The newspapers said the White House confirmed that Mr Trump would not impose tariffs as early as Monday, when he is due to be formally sworn in at a ceremony in Washington.
As soon as he was elected last November, Mr. Trump had threatened to hit Canada with 25% customs duties in one of his very first “executive orders”, on the first day of his return to the White House on January 20.
Canada says it is prepared to respond with countermeasures if Mr. Trump follows through on his threats. Ottawa is also injecting $1.3 billion in new resources into border security, hoping to convince Mr. Trump not to impose tariffs.
As Washington prepares for Mr. Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Canadian ministers are meeting in Montebello, Outaouais. The federal government has prepared several plans to retaliate if the tariffs go into effect as early as Monday — plans that could include billions of dollars in retaliatory duties.
Two federal government sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the details of the plans said the government will wait to see what happens Monday before revealing its cards.
The Canadian Press’ sources said that if Trump sets the tariffs at 25%, Canada’s first round would be counter-tariffs worth about $37 billion. A possible second round of tariffs worth an additional $110 billion is also on the table.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a meeting last Friday of a new advisory committee on Canada-U.S. relations, which includes former provincial premiers including Jean Charest, representatives from the auto industry, the agricultural sector and unions, as well as business people.
Mr. Trudeau also met with all 13 provincial and territorial premiers last Wednesday to discuss possible retaliatory measures. After that meeting, he and 12 provincial and territorial premiers issued a statement pledging to present a united front to their American counterparts.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stood alone, refusing to sign the declaration. She explained on social media that she could not support the “Team Canada” approach if energy exports could be part of the federal government’s response.
Mr. Trudeau said everything must be on the table, including energy.
With reporting from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington
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