Canada’s counter-tariffs ‘pulled the rug out from’ CUSMA, U.S. envoy says
Global News
So far, Trump has imposed a 35 per cent tariff on all non-free trade Canadian goods, a 50 per cent levy on Canadian steel, aluminum and copper, and is threatening to bring in more.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says Canada is jeopardizing the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) — also known as USMCA — on free trade due to Canadian counter-tariffs on certain American products.
“Canada is the country that has pulled the rug out from USMCA,” Hoekstra said in an exclusive interview with Global News on Thursday.
“They also started putting tariffs on CUSMA products … We haven’t done that, but Canada has decided ‘That’s fair game. We will call into question CUSMA.’”
Back in March, Ottawa placed a 25 per cent tariff on $29.8 billion in U.S. products, including some imports that fall under the free trade agreement such as orange juice, motorcycles and appliances.
That was in response to tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump that have continued to escalate.
So far, Trump has imposed a 35 per cent tariff on all non-free trade Canadian goods, a 50 per cent levy on Canadian steel, aluminum and copper, and is threatening to bring in more tariffs on Canadian pharmaceuticals.
Last week, Prime Minister Mark Carney hinted at unilaterally removing some tariffs on U.S. goods if it could improve ongoing negotiations and help Canadian businesses.
“We look at what we can do for our industry that’s most effective. In some cases that will be to remove tariffs,” he said.
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