No fooling. Now it’s April 2.
That’s when US president Donald Trump now plans to implement blanket tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He had previously indicated March 4 as ‘T-Day’ but seemingly made the unilateral change at his first official cabinet meeting in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, he even referred to Justin Trudeau as “Prime Minister” instead of “governor” although he reiterated his desire to see Canada become the 51st State.
Trump’s comments on the new tariff date seemed to take even his own officials by surprise and questioning media made him clarify it multiple times.
As recently as Monday, White House representatives insisted Trump’s plan to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on Canadian trade products — and 10% on energy — was moving ahead as scheduled on March 4, but a White House official said it could change “pending ongoing negotiations.”
During Wednesday's press scrum, Trump said the tariffs related to the border — and human and drug trafficking — were likely to be delayed indefinitely due to "progress" over security issues but reciprocal tariffs of an equal amount would go ahead 30 days later than planned.
Trump's reference to Trudeau as 'Prime Minister' was no accident, and was the first time he'd used the formal title since December.
Although he described Trudeau as a "nice guy" Trump also reiterated his desire to see Canada become part of the US.
"Justin Trudeau, nice guy. I think he's a very good guy. I call him Governor Trudeau. He should be governor because the fact is that if we don't give them cars, we don't have to give them to us," Trump said in his rambling style.
"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 million 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 insisted he has no animosity with the Canadian people and is only acting in the best interest of both nations.
"We love Canada. I love Canada. I love the people of Canada and 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."
It was an abrupt about-face from a president known for them.
Only yesterday Trump was asked if the tariffs would go into effect next week as he fielded questions during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump responded.
On Friday he indicated that tariffs on pharmaceuticals, autos and computer chips would be delayed to April 2, along with broad tariffs on the EU.
Separately, the president still says he will slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on March 12.
Sound confusing? Even Canadian government officials were left scrambling to ponder their next move.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly earlier this week insisted the Canadian government stands ready to retaliate with its $155-billion tariff plan, should Trump proceed on March 4. Presumably that too has been delayed.
Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said if Trump makes good on his threat and applies sweeping tariffs, it will amount to a permanent 5% “pay cut” for Canada’s economy as a whole.