Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday Americans “are beginning to wake up to the reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive.” Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Donald Trump on trade will be “a little more challenging” than the last time. Trudeau said that’s because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016. The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs. “Trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for Americans, and I think people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive,” Trudeau said. On the weekend, Trump appeared in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where the president-elect said he can’t guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won’t raise prices for American consumers. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, has said tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. Trudeau said his government is still mulling over “the right ways” to respond, referencing when Canada put billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Many of the U.S. products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports just $3 million worth of yogurt from the U.S. annually and most of it comes from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10% duty. “It was the fact that we put tariffs on bourbon and Harley-Davidsons and playing cards and Heinz ketchup and cherries and a number of other things that were very carefully targeted because they were politically impactful to the president’s party and colleagues,” Trudeau said Trudeau said the tariffs would be very damaging. “One of the most important things for us to do is not freak out, not to panic,” Trudeau said. “Knowing these would be absolutely devastating means we have to take them seriously but it does mean we have to be thoughtful and strategic and not going around making our opponents arguments for him but making our arguments in a significant and united way.” Canadian officials have said it is unfair to lump Canada in with Mexico. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, […]