Canada could become collateral damage in U.S.-China trade war
Canada may not be able to avoid the fallout from a trade war between China and the United States, according to one of Canada's former director generals for North Asia.
"The problem for us and other trade partners is that this is a unilateral measure," Philip Calvert told The House.
"The U.S. system is the complainant, judge and executioner on this."
China's government vowed Friday to "counter-attack with great strength" if President Donald Trump goes ahead with plans to raise U.S. tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese goods, and said negotiations were impossible under current conditions.
Trump's decision came a day after Beijing announced plans to tax $50 billion US in American products—including soybeans and small aircraft—in response to a U.S. move this week to slap tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports.
"China's reaction has been kind of 'measure for measure'," Calvert explained.
"A trade war between our two largest trading partners cannot go well for us."
It may seem that measures against the U.S. would allow Canada to fill gaps in the market, he added, but it's not that simple.
The U.S. would likely turn their products to other countries, which would create competition for those markets.