Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) warned Tuesday of “catastrophic” consequences to President Trump’s tariff plans.
“To have an all out war with Canada, with every country in the world, who was a major trading partner, that could have catastrophic economic consequences for our country, for our economy and for workers all across our nation,” Markey told CNN’s John Berman on “CNN News Central.”
Wednesday has been referred to as “Liberation Day” by Trump, when his administration is going to impose expansive reciprocal tariffs on other nations with duties on U.S. goods. Last week, Trump also unveiled that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made vehicle imports, going into effect Wednesday.
“I think the president is making it up as he‘s going along. I don‘t think he knows. But when he calls it ‘Liberation Day,’ it could be obliteration day,” Markey said of Trump’s “Liberation Day.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a press conference last week that the old U.S.-Canada economic relationship is “over,” and pledged that Canada will respond “forcefully” and that not a single thing “is off the table” when it comes to the president’s plan to impose additional tariffs on Canada and other countries.
“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over,” Carney said Thursday.
“We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away,” the Canadian leader added, a day after Trump announced that he will impose the 25 percent tariff on foreign vehicle imports. “We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home.”
In an emailed statement to The Hill on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended the president’s “America First economic agenda.”
“Fearmongering by the media and Democrats about President Trump’s America First economic agenda isn’t going to change the fact that industry leaders have already made trillions in investment commitments to make in America, and that countries ranging from Vietnam to India to the UK have already begun to offer up trade concessions that would help level the playing field for American industries and workers,” he said.
Updated at 3:47 p.m. EDT.
