Americans will tell Trump to back off on tariffs, says Canada’s industry minister

As It Happens6:45Americans will tell Trump to back off Canadian tariffs, says Canada’s industry minister

François-Philippe Champagne is fresh off a trip to Washington, D.C., and he says Canada has a lot of American allies in the trade war.

Canada’s minister of science, innovation and industry was south of the border last week to make the pitch to industry leaders and members of Congress that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian products will be bad news for both countries.

This week, several Canadian premiers are making similar visits to the U.S. capital.

While Champagne admits “the rules of engagement have changed” when it comes to dealing with the U.S. administration, he says all this work building relationships with American business and political leaders will, ultimately, pay off.

Here is part of his conversation with As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. 

You were [in Washington with Defence] Minister Bill Blair. Premiers have made other trips as well. Yet yesterday, [the Trump administration said it will impose] 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium. Does everything you’re doing, at a certain point, feel like a waste of time? 

No. I think we need to double down. 

I was talking to U.S. CEOs yesterday, and they did not see that coming, either. So it just tells you the world we live in. The rules of the game have changed. The rules of engagement have changed. It just seems to be kind of the new normal now that you see things coming from the White House the way we come. 

The work we’ve been doing, the relationships we’ve established, are going to be helpful. Now, our job is to push back against the tariffs [and] make sure that our American friends understand that the tariffs will undermine the security and competitiveness of America. Because today, economic security is national security. 

The steel we produce in Windsor, [Ont.,] for example, is going to the defence industry…. They go also in shipbuilding. They go in the aerospace industry [and] in the auto sector. Same thing with aluminum. 

So my point is that undermining these critical supply chains will make America less competitive. And that’s really the message we need to bring to Washington.

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You’ve been sending that message. Others have been. Business leaders there are telling you, as we’re hearing, that they’re not really on board with this idea and these threats either. But the administration is sticking to them hard and fast, and upping the ante, even. So, when you talk about rules, there are no rules. How do you deal with that? 

I hear you on that. But there is no alternative than engagement. 

I can tell you, though, that the tone has changed…. For example, the governor of Kentucky was on the news saying: Wow, now farmers in Kentucky are being impacted. Distilleries are closing. Orders are being halted. 

So I think voices like that and many others are going to help, because what we need is Americans talking to Americans, and making sure they understand there cannot be tariffs without consequences. There cannot be tariffs without impacts. And there cannot be tariffs without higher prices for U.S. consumers.

Just what you said there in terms of the tone shifting from American leaders — are you getting the sense that they’re being vocal enough and that they have enough leverage or sway to change the trajectory of what this administration is saying it’s going to do? 

I think they’re starting to realize how impactful this could be and how damaging it could be to America.

I can tell you, for example, we were talking about some critical minerals that are essential …. to the U.S. defence industry. When you’re talking about things that could impact the national security of the United States, I feel that people are listening. 

If you say no to Canada, you’re going to basically have to say yes to China or Russia. I don’t think that’s where you want to be in terms of critical supply chains that are essential for the defence of North America. 

These are very serious discussions. And I hope and I believe that they’re going to bring that voice to the White House. Because at the end of the day, we’re their closest partner. 

Tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum ‘entirely unjustified,’ PM says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will work with the U.S. in the coming weeks to highlight the negative impacts of ‘unacceptable’ 25 per cent tariffs on both Canadians and Americans. ‘If it comes to that, our response, of course, will be firm and clear.’

We know the prime minister is compiling a list [of retaliatory tariffs] and talking about that, but do you have any more specifics, at this stage, of what’s on the table? 

We published the list initially that we would draw from when there was this suspicion of the tariffs … so they know that we know how to respond. They know that we will respond. 

Regardless of the rhetoric in the way, the reality on the ground is that our American friends need Canadian steel and Canadian aluminum. 

So we’re going to push for an exemption. We’re going to make sure that they understand Canada is different than any other country.

Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau has said the U.S. president’s talk of absorbing Canada is a “real thing.” Should the goal be to strike a deal with this administration, or are you just trying to survive it? 

No one can infringe on the sovereignty of Canada. Never before. Never in the future. We will always be sovereign. We expect to be treated with respect.

They should value and cherish this great relationship they have with a country like us…. We stood together in conflict. We stood together in making this continent more competitive. And I would say we’re the envy of the world in many ways. 

So I hope that we can convince them to drop that rhetoric and to make sure that we can work closer together.

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