‘Totally unacceptable:’ Doug Ford slams Trump over aluminum tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford slammed U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday after Trump said America would be imposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum.

“I had a good conversation with the deputy prime minister this morning regarding this and I just have to say how disappointed I am with President Trump right now,” Ford said.

“We’re their number one trading partner in the world.”

Ford said in the midst of a pandemic, everyone needs to come together and called Trump’s actions “totally unacceptable” and added that we’re now in a “battle.”

“I hear they’re going to do tariffs on our steel industry as well,” Ford added.

On Thursday, Trump announced that America would be imposing a 10 per cent tariff “on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada.”

“Canada was taking advantage of us, as usual,” Trump said. “I signed it … because the aluminum business was being decimated by Canada … very unfair to our jobs and our great aluminum workers.”

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will impose countermeasures including “dollar-for-dollar” retaliatory tariffs.

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Ford, meanwhile, encouraged Ontarians to buy Ontario-made products. He has been pushing that message for several weeks and amplified it on Friday following Trump’s announcement.

“We need to start getting our manufacturing folks — the packaging folks — to put the ‘Ontario Made’ logo,” Ford said.

“Go out there and buy Ontario-made products. We’re up against a real battle right now. It’s us versus them. I love the American people, but right now for the president to come and attack us during these times through a pandemic when we need everyone’s support is totally unacceptable. We may be small, but we’re a consumer giant.”

Ford said Ontario alone does $390 billion per year in trading with the U.S.

“I’m a businessman and I would never go after my number one customer and slap him in the face like President Trump did to the Canadian public and Ontario. We will come back swinging like they’ve never seen before.”

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— With files from Beatrice Britneff