In a sharp rebuke from one of America's closest allies, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the White House rationale for imposing punitive trade tariffs on Canada as "insulting and unacceptable," the latest leader to warn of a looming trade war with the U.S.
The complaint, which aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," was a departure from the conciliatory approach Trudeau has shown to President Donald Trump, and signaled the growing pushback from U.S. allies to protectionist trade policies.
The White House announced last week that Canada, Mexico and the European Union nations would face a 25 percent tariff on imported steel and a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum. Initially announced in March, the levies took effect Friday.
In imposing them, Trump invoked a little-used provision that permits the use of tariffs to counter a national security threat.
Trudeau denied that Canada or its steel and aluminum industries posed any such menace. Canada is one of the largest U.S. trading partners and one of its closest military and political allies.
"The idea that we are somehow a national security threat to the United States is, quite frankly, insulting and unacceptable," Trudeau said.
The White House on Sunday pushed back against the notion that Trump's trade moves were unfair or irreversible. "Good-faith negotiations are welcome, and we hope to continue there," Larry Kudlow, the president's top economic adviser, said on "Fox News Sunday." He said Trudeau was "overreacting" to the new tariffs.
