Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau found himself on the hot seat Wednesday as he tried to rationalize the U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian aluminum and steel products ahead of an upcoming G7 Meeting in Quebec.
Saying he couldn’t “sugar coat” the current situation or tensions between Canada and the U.S., Minister Morneau said it’s a “challenging time” after U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and Europe. He also acknowledged the friction between the U.S. and leaders from the other Group of Seven leading industrialized nations ahead of the meeting on Friday and Saturday in La Malbaie, Quebec
“I can’t in any way sugar coat that for investors… We will work towards making sure that Canada and our other allies are put in a better situation in our relationship with the United States,” said Minister Morneau.
Last Saturday, G7 finance ministers and central bankers crafted a message to Washington, D.C. at the end of a three-day meeting in Whistler, B.C. In the joint “chair’s summary,” they asked their counterpart, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to “communicate their unanimous concern and disappointment” to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Minister Morneau, who chaired the Whistler meetings, said even though the group found common ground on many subjects, G7 members are now forced to do whatever they can to convince President Trump to move back from the tariffs.
“We are concerned that these actions are actually not conducive to helping our economy — they actually are destructive. And that’s consistently held across the six countries that expressed their point of view to Secretary Mnuchin,” Minister Morneau said.
