STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The United States did go ahead overnight and impose U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. China has already retaliated.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After President Trump's administration imposed 10% taxes on Chinese exports to the U.S., China responded with 15% taxes on U.S. goods. China also put export controls on vital metals like tungsten.
INSKEEP: Now, the trade war with Mexico and Canada is paused for now after the president made threats that jolted relations with a close U.S. ally. So how does all this look from Canada? NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam is in Ottawa. Jackie, good morning.
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: So how did the United States and Canada at least put off a confrontation?
NORTHAM: Well, you know, it did come right down to the wire. Trump's tariffs against Canada were set to go into effect one minute after midnight, and that's the same for Mexico. And Canada was bracing for it, you know? It had already announced it would retaliate by imposing 25% tariffs on $100 billion of U.S. goods. But earlier on Monday, Trump struck a deal with Mexico and then with Canada. And both sides said they would send thousands of troops to their borders to curb the illegal flow of migrants and fentanyl, which is what Trump had asked for. But, you know, Ottawa says the amount of fentanyl coming across from Canada is a fraction of that coming from Mexico, which has led to a lot of questions here in Canada of what this was really about. Why impose high tariffs on the country, which is one of, you know, the closest allies of the U.S.?
INSKEEP: Yeah, I am thinking the Canadians made new measures at their border before the threat of tariffs. Now they've made even more, apparently, or promised something, and still the threat of tariffs hangs over them for 30 days. How are people responding?
NORTHAM: Oh, you know, I've been talking with Canadians for the past couple of weeks since Trump first announced he was going to do this. And the responses have been anger and disbelief and really wanting to hit back. You know, there's a campaign that got underway to avoid buying any American products here. And Canadians were booing during the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at major sporting events. And liquor stores in some provinces were going to pull American bourbon and wine from their shelves. And, you know, I dropped in at a liquor store here in Ottawa last night. And one of the workers, Ryan Robinson (ph), said they were all ready to remove American bourbon off the shelves. Here he is.
RYAN ROBINSON: We felt betrayed. I think we thought, you know, our closest ally in the world was stabbing us in the back a little bit, right? I think Trump is blowing things out of proportion a little bit. So I don't really understand his reasoning to start such a trade war.
NORTHAM: And, you know, Steve, Canada is one of the U.S.'s largest trading partners. But, you know, it's more than that. This feels personal up here, especially when Trump keeps saying he wants to turn Canada into the 51st state.
INSKEEP: Yeah, which I think people took as a joke when Trump first said that. But he keeps saying it again and again and again. So how do the two countries move forward?
NORTHAM: Well, you know, this is only a month-long reprieve. And I think it's fair to say that there is a trust deficit between Canada and the U.S. - and the U.S. and Mexico, for that matter. Canada faced a serious threat of recession if Trump's tariffs went ahead. And, you know, there's a fear that it's not over, at least for now. And as you mentioned, Steve, the threat of a trade war goes beyond North America, as the U.S. and China launch these tit-for-tat tariffs on each other. The White House says Trump is due to talk to Chinese leader Xi Jinping today. But negotiations between the rivals, you know, could be a drawn-out process.
INSKEEP: NPR's Jackie Northam. Thanks so much for your work.
NORTHAM: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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