Trump says ‘very bad’ Canada is being ‘taught a little lesson’ as trade
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s war of words with Canada continued Wednesday as he veered off a prepared script at an event marking Hispanic Heritage Month in the States to chastise Canadian leaders for being what he called “very bad.”
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the U.S. was “stupidly run” before he got the job because past leaders allowed automakers to move assembly plants offshore, including to Canada.
Canada has had a large-scale domestic auto manufacturing industry since 1904, developing at roughly the same time as the one in the U.S.
Still, Trump said past presidents “allowed other countries to make our cars and sell them to us,” and he is ending that now with his high-tariff regime. The Trump administration has repeatedly made it clear that it wants to hollow out Canada’s auto industry.
“Canada has taken advantage of us for so many years. The worst of any country,” Trump said.
“I love the Canadian people, but the leaders have taken advantage of our stupid leadership for many, many years. They felt emboldened. … They act like they’re totally innocent. They’re not. They were very bad. But now they’re being taught a little lesson.”
One of those “lessons,” as the president described it, was his unilateral move to rename Lake Ontario in the U.S.
Addressing a largely Hispanic audience, Trump said his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America was “even cooler.”
“There could be a few people in the room that don’t love that one,” he said.
Import ban in effect
Trump’s comments come a day after he imposed an import ban on a list of Canadian products ranging from molasses and motorcycles to dairy products and alcohol.
The ban on Canadian beer, wine and spirits could be the most devastating; Canada exported about $1.2 billion worth last year, according to Statistics Canada data.
In an interview with Fox Business, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the administration is irked by Canadian liquor restrictions and limits on American businesses competing for provincial procurement contracts — restrictions enacted only after Trump slapped tariffs on Canadian goods last year.
Greer said the import ban is retribution for those actions.
“We gave them a lot of leeway,” Greer said.
“But at a certain point we said, ‘That’s enough, you need to take that off, and if you don’t, we’ll just match it.’ So we’ve matched some of the bans.”
Trump trade adviser Peter…
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