A senior aide to U.S. President Donald Trump described trade frictions with Canada on Sunday as a “family quarrel,” and brushed aside concerns expressed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I think he’s overreacting,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said of Trudeau on Fox News Sunday. Kudlow also said the steel and aluminum tariffs on U.S. allies “may go on for a while” or “they may not,” because the matter is subject to negotiation.
Trudeau is hosting a summit on June 8-9 of Group of Seven leaders, including Trump, in the Quebec region of Charlevoix. The United States on Thursday said it was moving ahead with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, ending a two-month exemption and potentially setting the stage for a trade war with some of America’s top allies.
Trudeau responded by saying that the tariffs are an affront to the longstanding security partnership between Canada and the United States.