The United States and Canada are embroiled in a trade war, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump, to which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded with tariffs against U.S. products valued at 30 billion Canadian dollars, with the threat of increasing that figure to 125 billion Canadian dollars in three weeks.
Trudeau stated that Canada will not back down in this trade confrontation, despite the close relationship between the two countries. In a press conference, Trudeau described the trade war as "very foolish" and accused Trump of wanting to provoke the collapse of the Canadian economy.
In an attempt to avoid tariffs, Canada appointed a new "fentanyl czar" and classified Mexican cartels as terrorist groups. Originally, Trump had signed an executive order imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imported products from Mexico and Canada, with a 10 percent increase on Canadian energy products. Despite an initial postponement to maintain negotiations, Trump ultimately decided to enforce the tariffs on March 4.
Trudeau has condemned the reasons given by Trump for imposing the tariffs, calling them unjustified and false, particularly the claim about the fentanyl leakage into the United States. Despite the diplomatic efforts made by Canada for a month to avoid this situation, the imposition of tariffs has become effective.
