Trump Twitter tirade raises concerns about global trade war

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – US President Donald Trump is making more threats this morning and there are concerns he could spark a global trade war.

Trump’s tough talk seems to be mainly targeting China, but Canadian politicians are also watching very closely after yesterday’s announcement from the White House outlining plans for punishing tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. If Canada is included in the protective measures, there is already talk of possible retaliatory measures at both federal and provincial levels.

“When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!” Trump tweeted this morning.

China has already expressed ‘grave concern’ about a U-S trade policy report that pledges to pressure Beijing.

A Commerce Ministry statement said Beijing has satisfied its trade obligations and appealed to Washington to settle disputes through negotiation.

“Of course there’s always the possibility for global trade war,” says Nelson Wiseman, director of Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto.

“But the way I would look at this tweet is is that it is largely put out for domestic consumption. Trump is very concerned about his popularity and he knows that appealing to nationalism and jingoism boosts one’s popularity.”

Wiseman believes there will be pushback within his Republican Party.

“This is partly a distracting move. It certainly catches a lot of attention. I think he is disturbed by the drop in the stock market — that should rattle him because he’s been spending so much time connecting the gains of the stock market with his own performance, even though there is very little evidence that they are connected as tightly as he suggests,” he tells NEWS 1130.

Wiseman points out there have been Canadian exemptions from previous protectionist measures from the US.

“He says he’s going to do these things and we will see if the happens,” he says. “I think people have been taking Trump too seriously.

Remember, he ran a campaign slamming China and Mexico and I really haven’t seen much action on the trade front in either of those areas.

They are still negotiating with the Canadians and the Mexicans on NAFTA. The trade negotiator recently said they are making good progress with the Mexicans and what restrictions have we seen on the Chinese?”

Wiseman calls Trump a performer. “It is important — the words that come out of the mouth of a president — but he has been repeatedly undercutting himself. I don’t take everything he says at face value, it has to be put into context,” he explains.

“Trump doesn’t fully appreciate the power that some other countries have over the United States. For example, if you get in a trade war with China, it holds billions and billions of dollars in American treasuries. If they dump those on the market, how is the United States going to continue to fund this huge deficit it’s running?”

Canada taking quick action

The lobbying is well underway.

It looks like the Trudeau government is taking quick action to try and ensure Canada gets an exemption from the major new US tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The government has already said any tariffs or quotas on Canadian steel or aluminum would be unacceptable, pointing out the US has a trade surplus with Canada for these products and we pose no security risks.

Finance Mininster Bill Morneau told a Montreal business crowd he is personally making calls to push Canada’s message.

“I spoke to the treasury secretary yesterday. We had a constructive call but we are dealing with always people that have a different perspective than we do and that’s the reality.”

In the past Canada has received an exemption on steel and aluminum tariffs, but so far no such assurances have been given by the Trump administration.

The president has shown no signs of compromise today.

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