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Former U.S. president Barack Obama slammed the Trump administration’s tariff regime on Saturday, and mocked the absurdity of engaging in a trade war with longtime ally Canada.
“The big trade war he’s starting now is with that well-known evil empire: Canada,” Obama said at a Cleveland rally for Democratic candidates in Ohio.
“These are the people who gave us maple syrup and Martin Short.… They’re the nicest people,” he joked. “They’re our friendly neighbours to the north, and he’s picking a fight with them?”
Obama, who has been stumping for Democrats ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, also criticized Donald Trump’s tariffs policy more generally, saying they have had the expected negative effect on U.S. consumers who bear the brunt of the rising costs.
Those rising costs have hampered Republican chances in the midterms, especially in border states, leading Trump to announce on Friday that he plans to lift tariffs on some Canadian products.
Ahead of the U.S. midterms, the Trump Administration is lifting 50 per cent tariffs on some Canadian products but adding them to others. The President also suggested a trade deal may be close, but Prime Minister Mark Carney was more cautious.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said on CBC’s Power & Politics that Ottawa isn’t expecting a deal before before the Nov. 3 vote.
The U.S. and Canada have been engaging in retaliatory tariffs since Trump first launched his levy campaign last year — ostensibly to combat alleged fentanyl trafficking and trade imbalances — and trade talks broke down in August.
Trump repeated lashes at Canada
Trump has routinely used Canada as a punching bag in his campaign rally speeches.
“At some point, we’re making a deal that’s gonna be amazing,” Trump said during a stop in Highland Heights, Ky., on Oct. 17.
“But for years we’ve lost billions and billions of dollars, and they just felt so emboldened.”
He was cheered when he called former prime minister Justin Trudeau a “loser” before taking aim at his successor, Mark Carney.
“Your current guy’s good … he’s a nice guy, but he’s not nice when it comes to trade,” he said.
“They’re learning and they’re suffering.”
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