\n
\n\t\t\t\tJudge blocks Trump funding freeze that sparked confusion for aid providers<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said after the provinces signed the agreement that he respected the position by Smith, but that \u201cCanada comes first\u201d because no region will be exempt from the impacts of Trump\u2019s potential tariffs.<\/p>\n
\n
Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Trudeau noted Trump\u2019s tariff threat and other comments targeting Canada appeared focused on the Ontario auto sector rather than Alberta oil and gas.<\/p>\n
Trump has threatened to impose a tariff of 25 per cent on all products from Canada, though it\u2019s still not clear how widespread it will be as the president did not sign any executive orders once sworn in to put said tariffs in place last week.<\/p>\n
He has still stood by his widespread threat with the current date set for Saturday.<\/p>\n
Smith has said she opposes not only a ban on Alberta\u2019s various energy products, but also any potential tariff, telling reporters earlier this week that oil and gas is owned by the provinces.<\/p>\n
She added that cutting off pipeline supplies from going into the U.S.,\u00a0 would choke key supplies to Ontario and Quebec as well as it would be unable to flow through Michigan to reach the latter provinces.<\/p>\n
Joe Calnan, energy security forum manager at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said it also could cause a bigger problem for Canadian producers if Canada were to put an import or export tax on top of the 25 per cent tariff proposed by Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we put an export tax on top of that, then we\u2019ll just be increasing the economic burden carried by Canadian producers without necessarily impacting U.S. refiners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n
Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
When the United States Canada Mexico Agreement (USMCA or CUSMA) on free trade was signed in 2019, it saw the U.S. drop the 25 per cent tariff Trump imposed during his first term on Canadian and Mexican steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminum.<\/p>\n
A year later in 2020, Trump re-imposed another 10 per cent tariff on aluminum, though after Canada put its own retaliatory tariffs in place the president dropped it.<\/p>\n
According to Brookings Institute<\/a>, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C., tariffs against either country would \u201cundermine\u201d the \u201ckey role of trade and investment across North America\u201d that CUSMA stresses.<\/p>\nThough the institute adds with the agreement up for review in 2026, it is possible the tariffs could be a means for the U.S. to \u201cextract concessions\u201d from both countries prior to the review.<\/p>\n
Calnan added if the federal government does go the route of an export ban or tariff, it should impress on Americans why it\u2019s doing so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing we need to do is make sure that the American people know that if and when there are downstream consequences of these tariffs, to make sure that we\u2019re communicating that the reason they\u2019re paying more at the pump is because of the tariff, it\u2019s not because Canada just wants to punish them,\u201d Calnan said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n