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'Canada’s a very bad abuser': Tariffs on Canadian imports coming on Feb. 1, Trump says

Trump made the statement while signing executive orders at the White House Monday night, citing the the migration of people and fentanyl crossing the borders

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President Donald Trump said that he plans to enact across-the-board tariffs of as much as 25 per cent on Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1, reiterating his contention that the U.S.’s two immediate neighbours are allowing the flow of migrants and drugs into the country.

“We’re thinking in terms of 25 per cent on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast numbers of people,” into the country, Trump said in response to questions from reporters. “I think we’ll do it February 1.”

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Trump made the statement while signing executive orders at the White House Monday night, citing the the migration of people and fentanyl crossing the borders.

“Canada’s a very bad abuser,” Trump said.

Trump’s suggestion that he will impose sweeping tariffs on Canada on Feb. 1 is “nothing new,” Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said late Monday, insisting Canada has plans ready for several possible scenarios.

LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly stepped out of a cabinet meeting in Montebello, Que. to deliver a statement to reassure Canadians after the newly installed U.S. president signed a stack of unrelated executive orders Monday evening.

LeBlanc, who said Trump is known to be unpredictable, said his comments should not come as a surprise.

“Our country is absolutely ready to respond to any one of these scenarios,” he said.

The date comes after Trump officials, speaking anonymously, suggested to reporters that the Republican president would only sign a memorandum telling federal agencies to study trade issues, including alleged unfair trade and currency practices by Canada, Mexico and China.

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Trump also indicated he was still considering a universal tariff on all foreign imports to the U.S. because “essentially all countries take advantage of the U.S.” But he said he was “not ready for that yet.”

“You’d put a universal tariff on anybody doing business in the United States, because they’re coming in and they’re stealing our wealth,” he said, adding that implementation could be “rapid.”

“We’re going to make a lot of money from tariffs,” Trump said.

In his inauguration speech earlier Monday, Trump did not mention Canada but said he was going to overhaul the trade system to protect American workers and families.

“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said during his inaugural address.

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The federal government has several plans ready to deploy in the event Trump moves ahead with imposing tariffs.

In an interview inside the Canadian embassy in Washington, Liberal MP John McKay said Ottawa has an opportunity to establish “an agreed upon set of facts, as opposed to nonsense which is currently occupying the public space.”

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Trump has insisted for weeks that Washington is subsidizing Canada at an annual rate of $100 billion, a claim McKay called “just nonsense.”

Trade Minister Mary Ng sought to reassure Canadians earlier Monday, saying that Ottawa and the provinces have taken a Team Canada approach to convincing Americans that tariffs and restrictions on Canadian goods would only hurt U.S. jobs.

“We are ready and we are prepared,” Ng said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she saw opportunity for Canada in Trump’s speech when he said he would “declare a national energy emergency” to drive down prices at the pump and “export American energy all over the world.”

Smith said Canada can form a “perfect partnership” with the U.S. to provide oil and gas at stable prices, so the Americans can focus on boosting their own energy exports.

“Americans want to have energy dominance globally, and I believe the best way for them to achieve that is for Canada to be a partner in that,” she said.

“If their asks are reasonable, then let’s meet them halfway.”

In a statement issued Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Trump on his inauguration and cited Canada’s efforts to secure the border in response to the Republican leader’s demands for a crackdown on migrants and drugs.

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“We are strongest when we work together,” Trudeau wrote.

“I look forward to working with President Trump, his administration, members of the United States Congress, and officials at the state and local levels to deliver prosperity for our peoples _ while protecting and defending the interests of Canadians.”

When asked who would be his first foreign meeting, Trump said he’d already had meetings. He pointed to Trudeau, making a repeated jab about making Canada the 51st state by calling him a governor.

— With additional reporting from Bloomberg.

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