The mayor of Windsor says U.S. President Donald Trump is volatile and unpredictable as new tariffs for Canada went into effect today.
Drew Dilkens is reacting to the 35 per cent tariff for goods from Canada that went into effect today.
Trump justified the 10 per cent rate change by saying Canada didn't co-operate in curbing the flow of fentanyl over the border, while also pointing to Ottawa's retaliatory tariffs.
Dilkens says he's not surprised that Trump put these measures in place, despite ongoing negotiations between Canada and the U.S. - adding that Trump is just adding fuel to the fire.
He hopes Canada and the U.S. can have a solid trading relationship that is tariff free.
"Let's get our automotive sector as highly functioning again, we're starting to see the pain playing out in the automotive sector, you see Stellantis reporting billion dollar quarterly losses, and the rest of the OEM's [Original Equipment Manufacturers] aren't far behind. That is just the signal that the pressure is building, and guess what, either they start cutting back production, or they start passing the costs onto consumers - including consumers in the U.S."
Dilkens says Trump believes that factories in other countries will close and reopen in the U.S.
"Wherever you reopen, you have to make sure that you have a skilled workforce - like we do here in Windsor - to be able to operate that plant. The United States has 4.2 per cent unemployment, that by all economic standards is full employment in an economy, where are they getting the people even if they could repatriate all the factories? So, we have to find a pathway that allows us both to win, both to continue moving forward."
He says to Trump this is about Canada bending a knee.
"That's what he wants us to do, we are a proud, sovereign, independent nation. We have a long established history, and relationship with the United States, including on the trade front, the last thing we should be doing is bending the knee to the United States. We need to be proud of what we've built together, we need to figure out a pathway that's going to allow us to proceed forward for the next three years and six months, and I believe that that's possible."
The White House has said the tariffs would not affect goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, but it's not clear exactly how much of what Canada exports to the U.S. is compliant with that agreement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the government was disappointed by the action, noting some industries like lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles will be harder hit.