Canada’s foreign minister issues chilling message to the rest of the world as trade war between US intensifies
The Canadian foreign minister has sent out a strong message after Donald Trump made the move to raise trade tariffs.
Despite threatening to raise the metals tariff to 50 percent for Canadian imports, the American president has backtracked slightly due to the backlash, instead placing a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico.
The move has not been well received across the world, as Trump also put an increased tariff on Chinese goods, as well as an initial tariff of 25 percent on steel and aluminium from every country.
Trump has also recently threatened to put a mega 200 percent tariff on EU alcohol, in what would be a huge blow.
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But with all these drastic trade changes, leaders of other countries have become disgruntled, with many wanting to maintain a strong relationship with the US.
UK trade chief William Bain has advised Britain to 'keep calm and carry on exporting' despite the changes, and reiterated the confidence he had in mitigating the impact of these in an interview with LADbible.
However, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has adopted a different approach, claiming that 'nobody is safe'.
She said in a speech in Ottawa: "If the US can do this to us, their closest friend, then nobody is safe," reports Politico.
Joly called Trump out for his 'exaggerated' reasoning behind the increase in tariffs, explaining: "We have done nothing to justify Trump's attacks on our country, on our economy and our identity.
"Canada is your best friend, best neighbour and best ally."
She scathingly went on: "The excuse for the first round was exaggerated claims about our border. We addressed all the concerns raised by the US.
"The latest excuse is national security despite the fact that Canada's steel and aluminum adds to America's security."
The relationship between the US and Canada is at a low, especially with the president hinting at annexing the country to make it the US' 51st state.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has downplayed these claims though, saying that Trump meant it with 'economic' reasoning.
He even suggested: "We wouldn't have to worry about the border and fentanyl coming across because now we would be able to manage that."
Joly though, remained critical of the president, adding: "Yesterday, he called our border a fictional line and repeated his disrespectful 51st state rhetoric.
"Well, Canadians have made it very clear that we will not back down, and we will not give in to this coercion."
In a trade war that has been branded 'unjustifiable' by the Canadian foreign trade minister, she was not having Trump's comments that the border between the nations was an 'artificial line'.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, World News
Joshua Nair