Trump moves 25% tariff deadline to April 2, continues 51st state rhetoric

U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed his deadline to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian trade imports even further, extending the reprieve until April.

Source: The White House - Facebook

Author: Quinn Patrick

U.S. President Donald Trump has postponed his deadline to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian trade imports even further, extending the reprieve until April.

Despite previously granting Canada a one-month extension in February – set to expire on Tuesday – Trump now says the tariffs won’t come into effect until April 2.

Trump made the announcement Wednesday during his first cabinet meeting in Washington.

Notably, Trump referred to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by his official title and not as the “governor of Canada,” a term he’s repeatedly used throughout the tariff dispute.

However, he reiterated his belief that Canada should join the U.S. as the 51st state.

“When I spoke to let’s call it the Prime Minister, rather than the governor, when I spoke to him, I said, ‘Why are we giving you $200 billion a year?’ He was unable to answer the question. I said, ‘Why are we letting you make millions of cars and send them in?’ He was unable to answer the question,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.

“Justin Trudeau, nice guy. I think he’s a very good guy. I call him Governor Trudeau. He should be governor,” he continued. “The tariffs will make it impossible for them to sell cars into the United States. The tariffs will make it impossible for lumber or anything else into the United States.”

The shift in tone comes after White House officials initiated the tariffs that would be implemented by March. 4, including 25 per cent levies on all Canadian trade and 10 per cent on energy “pending ongoing negotiations.”

“All I’m asking to do is break even, or lose a little bit but not lose $200 billion dollars,” he said. “We love Canada. I love Canada. I love the people of Canada, but honestly, it’s not fair for us to be supporting Canada, and if we don’t support them, they don’t subsist as a nation.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the federal government is prepared to respond with $155 billion in retaliatory tariffs earlier this week in anticipation of the initial March 4 deadline.

Additionally, Canada’s premiers travelled to Washington, D.C. several weeks ago to negotiate with Republican senators, lawmakers and business groups in the hopes of persuading Trump to rescind his pledge to impose crippling tariffs on Canadian imports.