July 13, 2020

“We’re Going to War:” Doug Ford Comes Out Swinging at Donald Trump Over Aluminum Tariffs

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is railing against U.S. President Donald Trump for threatening tariffs against Canada, warning that could trigger a nasty trade war.

Ford, who in the past has professed support for Trump, urged the American leader not to slap levies on Canadian aluminum, which would hurt Ontario.

“We’re the number one customer to 19 states, we’re the number two to nine others. We were instrumental in employing 9 million Americans, and then they want to start talking about tariffs against us?” the premier told reporters Friday in Woodbridge.

“You got to be kidding, we’re the number one customer in the world, Canada is. So I highly recommend President Trump, don’t do it,” he said.

“Don’t put tariffs on our aluminum or we’re coming out swinging, we may be small, but we’re your number one customer. Remember that. Don’t forget it.”

In off-the-cuff comments after promoting a new “Ontario-made” push to get people to buy domestic products, Ford, who once ran his family’s label business in Chicago, said “we’re going to make sure we support our own.”

“I was down there for years, ‘made in USA.’ Well, guess what, it’s going be ‘made in Ontario,’ ‘made in B.C.’, ‘made in Quebec,’” he said.

“Folks, let’s stick together because economically, we’re going to war.”

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau skipped a White House meeting with Trump and Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador to mark the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, pact that took effect July 1.

(Source: The Star)