David MacNaughton, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States, told Newsmax on Thursday he's "mystified" by President Donald Trump's tariff threats and the ensuing trade war between the two nations.
Canada on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade duties on U.S. goods worth about $21 billion following Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on global steel and aluminum imports and repeated threats to raise tariffs on Canadian products.
MacNaughton, in an interview with "Wake Up America," questioned the reasoning behind Trump's actions toward Canada and said, "Trade between Canada and the United States has been more or less balanced."
He added that the U.S. and Canada "have a great trading relationship," pointing to the trade agreement negotiated during Trump's first administration, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.
"We did a trade deal with President Trump when I was in Washington that he said was the best trade deal ever done, so I don't know what is motivating him and the administration to put tariffs on us," MacNaughton said.
He also pushed back on Trump's justification for the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Trump said were necessary due to national security concerns, saying, "I've never really thought that Canada is a national security threat to the United States. We are partners in defense and in prosperity. So … I don't know what's behind this other than perhaps a negotiating tactic by the president."
MacNaughton added, "If what the president wants is reciprocity, the reality … is that up until he took his action, I think we were pretty much in reciprocity."
The former ambassador said Canada was "Living by the agreement that he made with us" until Trump imposed the recent tariffs.
MacNaughton said he's "quite frankly … mystified by all of this. And as I say, it's probably some kind of a negotiating tactic. But in the meantime, I think people on both sides of the border are being hurt."
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