Your World Tonight - Tariff pause, buy Canadian, anti U.S. sentiment and more

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

The White House has paused tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days. The dramatic turnaround came after phone calls between U.S. president Donald Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will take several measures to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking, including appointing a “fentanyl czar”, listing cartels as terrorists, and launching joint strike force with the U.S. to combat organized crime. The uncertainty may be over for now, but Canadian anger is still there. Canadians have been responding to the tariff threat by rejecting U.S. products. The “Buy Canadian” movement is gaining steam, and some are hoping it will continue, no matter what happens next. The anti-U.S. sentiment is brewing in other arenas as well – literally. Fans are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. We look at the cracks in what – until now – has been a strong international relationship. The markets took a bit of a hit, as did the Canadian dollar – dropping to its lowest level in two decades. But both rebounded - even before the news of the pause. We’ll have more with our senior business correspondent. And Trump isn’t only targeting North America and China – he is threatening tariffs on the European Union as well. EU leaders meeting in Brussels say a tariff war makes no sense, and would be bad for all sides.

Overwhelmed by debt? You are not alone. Empower yourself with trusted solutions. Visit Canada.ca slash debt dash solutions and regain control with confidence. A message from the Government of Canada. This is a CBC Podcast. What I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state. We don't need them to build our cars.

We don't need them for the cars. We don't need them for lumber. We don't need them for anything. The needs and the wants of Donald Trump setting off frantic days of phone calls, meetings, confusion, concern and finally a concession in the form of a 30-day pause. Temporary relief in the sudden restructuring of Canada-U.S. trade and the rethink of relations with our closest ally. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Susan Bonner. It is Monday, February 3rd coming up on 7 p.m. Eastern. This is a threat to who we are as a nation. It's taking a long time to grocery shop because you have to be so careful.

Absolutely we must fight back. The made in Canada retaliation from counter punch tariffs to shopping for home grown alternatives, the government policy and consumer purchasing power making up this country's response. I think that we have to do everything to avoid this totally unnecessary and stupid tariffs wars or trade wars. And it's more than just a continental shift. Canada and Mexico may be the first to feel it, but from Europe to Asia, leaders around the world are preparing for a new era in global trade. We have comprehensive coverage for you tonight on Donald Trump's rapidly evolving tariff

and trade threats. We begin with the CBC's Katie Simpson in Washington. The US president had just ended his phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before walking into the East Room of the White House for a long planned celebration with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He gave no real hints. He just struck a deal, giving Canada a 30-day pause on the tariff threat. Later, citing on his social media page Canada's $1.3 billion border security improvement proposal,

plans to appoint a new Fentanyl czar, and Canada's pitch to put 10,000 frontline workers at the border. Similar to the deal, Mexico's president struck with Trump earlier. She did agree to 10,000 soldiers on the border. I would say that's a lot. Would you say that's pretty good? All of it part of a remarkable roller coaster of a day jolting from pangs of dread to moments of hope. A frenetic back and forth all dependent on the decision of one man.

Signing executive orders with a Sharpie in the Oval Office earlier, Trump strayed from the idea tariffs are really a way to better secure the border. Again saying Canada would not face the penalty if it became the 51st state. Some people say that would be a long shot. If people wanted to play the game right it would be a hundred percent certain that they'd become a state.

But a lot of people don't like to play the game because they don't have a threshold of pain. And there would be some pain. But not a lot. The pain would be really there. Incendiary language as Trump continues to shift the goalposts. On top of becoming a state, he said he also wants Canada to increase defence spending to allow US banks more access to the Canadian market. He also thinks tariffs can raise revenues to pay for his domestic agenda, including tax cuts for Americans.

And Vice President J.D. Vance offered another reason too. We're done being taken advantage of in this country. We have got to rebalance the trade relationship between... Despite the administration's own words, they continue to deny the objectives are shifting. President Trump was absolutely 100% clear that this is not a trade war, this is a drug war. Gavin Hassett is the director of the National Economic Council,

and he takes issue with the fact the Trudeau government believes this is about more than just border security. The Canadians appear to have misunderstood the plain language of the executive order and they're interpreting it as a trade war. And I think that that's probably consistent with the policies that we've seen from this failed government in the past. Canadians may need to get used to this. Trump views himself as a negotiator and he wants to tilt the trading relationship in America's favour because he knows he's got the most powerful economy in the world.

Katie Simpson, CBC News, Washington. Here at home, the 30-day reprieve is forcing Canadian officials to quickly adapt their response plan, dropping retaliatory actions while continuing to work with the White House in the hope of using the next month to reach a compromise. dropping retaliatory actions while continuing to work with the White House in the hope of using the next month to reach a compromise. Tom Perry has more from Ottawa. So we've been working on some of these elements for weeks. It came together, I think, at the right moment.

David McGinty, Canada's public safety minister, reflecting on a development that came with hardly a moment to spare. U.S. President Donald Trump has agreed to set aside his threat to impose tariffs on Canadian exports for 30 days after speaking by phone with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. So I think what we've got now is a situation where we've got some work to do over the next 30 days to get this right and you know the president expressed concerns we listened but we're working now jointly hand-in-hand especially when it comes to this scourge and this

tragedy surrounding fentanyl. Trudeau has assured Trump Canada will appoint a fentanyl czar to coordinate efforts to control the flow of the deadly drug across the border. Like Mexico's president the prime minister has also promised to increase security along the border to guard against human smuggling. How all of this will come together is still a work in progress, but Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says it's a start. This is positive, albeit only for 30 days. This is a significant change and it's a positive change, I think,

for not just each of us as Canadians, but for all of us in North America. Quebec Premier Francois Lagault is also expressing relief with a healthy dose of caution. For me it's not a complete victory. For me I still think that Mr. Trump wants to attack Canada. The pressure on Canada remains intense. Even before today's reprieve. BC premier David Eby was saying none of it makes sense. The absurdity of this, of allies and neighbours hurting each other has really I think come home to many British

Colombians and Canadians. Federal Conservative leader Pierre Paulyev also weighed in with a pledge to deploy Canada's military along the border if he's elected, and use watchtowers, drones and scanners to intercept drugs and human smugglers, accusing his rivals Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh of losing control of the frontier. Part is incompetence, but part is the radical liberal agenda. A borderless, globalist, post-national agenda. While attacking his opponents, Poliev says Trump has wrongly used the border as an excuse for tariffs.

That threat for now on hold with a message from the U.S. president. See you in a month. Tom Perry, CBC News, Ottawa. Financial markets slid slightly earlier today, but by and large seem to be shrugging off the potential impact of a trade war. The Canadian dollar fell to a 22-year low. Peter Armstrong has been covering all of that for us. Peter, how are the markets reacting? Susan, this will be a heaving sigh of relief to investors because it means we have for the moment at least avoided a broad-based Continental wide trade war that would have seen the implementation of more tariffs than we've seen since the 1860s

There's an interesting thing here and though in that markets kind of never believed this was going to happen. They have largely ignored this threat for weeks as the threat loomed and as the seriousness grew, markets really didn't budge and they didn't even move very much today. They sold off a touch at the open but then when Mexico signed Id Steel both the Dow and the S&P moved their way back to something approaching normal. But do markets now have to factor in the possibility that a trade war is still on the horizon, perhaps as close as 30 days away from now, given Trump's tough talk? I think you're quite right that they do. And in a weird way, I think investors would say they have done the math, right?

They know how damaging this could be. They know which sectors would be hit the hardest. We've seen analyst reports showing the auto industry, for example, would be hit with double digit earnings hits to the big three automakers. So it's not so much that they didn't believe a trade war would be bad. They just didn't believe that Trump was ever

going to follow through on this threat. And now we look to the Canadian dollar, which has been having a rough ride because of all of this. What's next for the dollar? Yeah, the dollar is back to a place we haven't seen in a little while. It's back above 69 cents and working its way potentially back to 70 cents for the first time in a very long time. And remember, analysts had been saying the dollar, if tariffs were enacted at midnight tonight, could have slipped as far as 65 cents US. Now that is bad for the me's in the use of

the world, the travelers, the importers, but remember it would be a very good cushion for those exporters that are facing these tariffs. They get paid in US dollars and right now knowing that threat of tariffs still looms large they're gonna need whatever cushion they can get. But Peter, we keep going back to the number one rule of the economy. Uncertainty is bad. This is a reprieve. It is not the end of this. So how much uncertainty remains? A lot. And I think one of the things we have seen, Susan, is that the markets and the investors in those markets have largely priced in the uncertainty. They feel like they understand where Trump is coming from and in this case I think they would say we were proven right. They didn't think he was going to do it and

lo and behold a deal was struck and he didn't do it. For now at least. So Peter thank you very much for helping us through this. Yeah you bet. Senior business correspondent Peter Armstrong in Toronto. China is also in Trump's sights. He has imposed another 10% tariff on trade from that country. Trump says China is also responsible for illegal immigration and drugs going into the US. Fu Kang is China's ambassador to the United Nations. He says tariffs are not the way to stop fentanyl trafficking. There is no winner in a trade war. We do hope that the U.S. should look at his own problems, really solve this, find a solution that is beneficial to himself and also to the whole world. And frankly speaking, I don't think that raising tariffs is beneficial to the US itself.

China has not announced any countermeasures but says it will take a challenge to the World Trade Organization. Trump also says China has too much control and influence over the Panama Canal, a key shipping corridor. Panama announced today it would allow its agreement with China to expire. Coming up on the podcast, Canadians respond to the terror of threats with their voices and their wallets. The European nation's now on alert that Donald Trump's next move will target them. that Donald Trump's next move will target them. As Canadian officials respond to the U.S. in high-level meetings and phone calls, there's also pushback happening in grocery stores and shops across the country.

Consumers sending a message and retailers making it easier by identifying domestic products on their shelves. Alexander Silberman has more on the push to buy Canadian. Absolutely, we must fight back. At a Toronto grocery store, shoppers like Eve Vixny are trying to fill up their carts with as much Canadian food as possible, steering clear of anything labelled product of USA. But it's taking a long time to grocery shop

because you have to be so careful. Fati Abu Hatab says he too feels insulted by Trump's possible tariffs and shopping local is his way of pushing back. It was very good to see this national feeling of doing something for Canada and of course I want to be a part of it. In response to potential U.S. tariffs, there's a growing push to buy Canadian and avoid American products. Politicians like Ontario PC leader Doug Ford are encouraging retailers to make Canadian products easier to find.

Anything, I don't care if it's a toothpick. We need to purchase from Canada and Ontario. Manitoba Premier Wab Kanu also promoting Buy Canadian. If you're looking for ways to fight back, just remember to shop local. That movement is gaining a lot of traction at the grocery store, where habits are changing. Kendra Susino is assistant manager of Fiesta Farms, a grocery store in Toronto. Her staff added Canadian flag stickers to the shelves to make products easier to find. So it does become a little bit tricky. We decided

that if it's made here so a Canadian physically made it that's who's gonna get the Made in Canada sticker. Dino Virgona is one of the store's owners. He says there's growing interest from customers in buying Canadian. Which ones are Canadian? They're actually unsure some of them. So they're asking you. While it's easy to say an Ontario apple is 100% Canadian, for processed foods, it gets complicated. Made in Canada on a label means at least 51% of the final

processing happened here and may rely on imported foods, while product of Canada means nearly all of the ingredients are from Canada. David Soberman is a professor of marketing at the University of Toronto. He says brands should take advantage of the opportunity. You should highlight the fact that you're made in Canada. Now is the time to do it. It's a chance to actually build on that equity and the feeling that the general public has. If enacted, counter tariffs against the U.S. would raise the cost of many imported grocery items, and buying Canadian could soon be an increasingly affordable choice. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Toronto.

What many see as un-neighbourly treatment by the U.S. has sparked a surge of Canadian pride. As Thomas Dagler reports, Canadians are making their feelings known in sports arenas, on social media and on the streets. and on the streets. On a busy downtown Toronto street, in the shadow of the imposing grey U.S. consulate, ask Canadians how they feel and you'll get a burst of patriotism. I think people are disappointed and obviously it's ramped up to a point that we haven't seen maybe ever. Mixed with outright anger at our southern neighbour. I'm pissed. I think it's the wrong way to do it.

It's our closest ally. It's ridiculous. Can you see? That emotion spilling out into the open during the US National Anthem at NHL games in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa, and as the Toronto Raptors hosted the LA Clippers. Consider it a moment of national frustration, reminiscent for some of a much different dispute in 2003. Back then, hockey fans in Montreal booed the Star-Spangled Banner,

and protesters took to the streets over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Peace, not war! Under U.S. pressure, Canada refused to join the operation, highlighting rare cracks in what had been a mostly stable relationship since Confederation. That sparked a kind of emotional response that we're seeing similar to today, where a lot of Canadians are like, hey, stop bullying us. University of Toronto business historian Dimitri Anastakis

also points to a famous song by the Guess Who. American woman, stay away from me. Released amid strong anti-American sentiment in Canada over the Vietnam War. Now tensions over Trump's threatened tariffs come in the era of social media. With Canadian users posting memes and stunts Now tensions over Trump's threatened tariffs come in the era of social media. With Canadian users posting memes and stunts to vent their frustration.

In a video from a New York pharmacy, Toronto comedian Arsalan Shirazi pushes aside American snacks, replacing them with Canada dry ginger ale and sour patch kids candy first produced in Ontario. So I think there's an element of people saying like, Hey, we're not going to just let you push us around because we have to stand up for ourselves. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she too is seeing a visible rise in Canadian pride. That comes alongside a bit of an anti American sentiment, a frustration that our closest neighbor and trading partner has decided to treat us this way.

The potential trade war provoking unity from coast to coast as Canadians everywhere consider what's to come. Thomas Daigle, CBC News, Toronto. This is your World Tonight from CBC News. If you want to make sure you stay up to date and never miss one of our episodes, follow us on Spotify, Apple, wherever you get your podcasts. Just find the follow button and lock us in. Trump has another tariff target in mind. The European Union.

Trump says it will happen. He offered no timeline other than saying it would take place pretty soon. The news dropped right before EU leaders gathered in Brussels. Here is senior international correspondent Margaret Evans. Ready or not, here he comes. That was US President Donald Trump's message overnight, making it clear that the European Union should expect the same treatment on tariffs as Canada. It will definitely happen with the European Union, I can tell you that, because they've

really taken advantage of us. The US is the European Union's largest trading partner, the EU selling more goods to the US than it imports. Trump calls it an atrocity. Arriving in Brussels for an informal summit today, European Union leaders were preparing. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. I think that we have to do everything to avoid this

totally unnecessary and stupid tariffs war, trade war. France's Emmanuel Macron said what's happening stateside will make Europe even stronger. If we're attacked on trade topics, he says, Europe has to make itself respected and react. Alright, we now have time for a few questions. Across town, at NATO headquarters, and therefore react. science is unraveling at the most fragile of times. Your first question, let me say that I'm absolutely convinced we can deal with these issues and there are always issues between allies.

But the list is growing. Trump's threats to take over Greenland added to differences over support for Ukraine and defence spending. Analysts say Washington's choice of Canada as a target is both puzzling and a wake-up call for European governments. Stephen Hunsaker is with the think tank called the UK and a changing Europe. What's happening is the UK and EU are right now really looking at this situation and trying to understand, okay, what can we take from this? How do we mitigate this? Trump seemed to indicate that Britain, now outside the EU, might win a reprieve because he gets along with the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. Well, Prime Minister Starmer has been very nice. We've had a couple of meetings. We're getting along very well.

Starmer, who joined EU leaders in Brussels for what he hopes will be a post-Brexit reset for relations with the EU, says Britain can enjoy strong relations with both the US and the EU. Margaret Evans, CBC News, London. The Trump administration isn't only focused on tariffs today. Elon Musk says it's time to shut down the country's agency for international development. USAID dispenses billions of dollars in humanitarian and development aid every year. Paul Hunter has more on Trump's plan. We're here today to shine a light on a crime that is unfolding before our eyes.

Standing in front of the now effectively shuttered offices of the US Agency for International Development, known as USAID in downtown Washington, Democrat lawmakers slammed the actions of President Donald Trump. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. It is really, really a sad day in America. We are witnessing a constitutional crisis. We talked about Trump wanting to be

a dictator on day one, and here we are. But their fury was aimed as well at Trump adviser Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who's now in charge of cutting what he deems wasteful federal spending. In this instance, an agency that last year distributed more than $70 billion worldwide to better equip those in need battle AIDS, Ebola, bird flu, corruption, clean water shortages, women's health issues, and more. On apparently Musk's say so, and in the wake of Trump's move

to freeze most foreign assistance broadly, employees at the agency were told their downtown headquarters is closed, at least for now. Hundreds have been locked out of their computer system. Yellow police tape marked, do not enter, block the door to the front lobby. Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin. We don't have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk, and that's going to become real clear. Virginia Congressman Don Bayer. What Trump and Musk have done is not only wrong, it's illegal. Lawmakers underline the agency was created by an act of Congress and cannot be closed

without congressional approval. But Trump, who once supported USAID, is having none of it. I love the concept, but they turned out to be radical left lunatics. In the Oval Office, deriding the spending of the agency's leadership. These people are lunatics. All of it, the latest example of Trump's determination

to get his so-called America First agenda in place as quickly as possible. In defending the shutdown today, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt cited some select USAID expenditures. Seventy thousand for a production of a DEI musical in Ireland. Forty-seven thousand for a transgender opera in Colombia. And the list went on. I don't know about you, but as an American taxpayer,

I don't want my dollars going towards this crap, and I know the American people don't either. Posted Elon Musk today, we're shutting it down. Paul Hunter, CBC News, Washington. Finally, with Canada-U.S. trade tension causing so much concern, it may be helpful to note this isn't the first time the two sides have butted heads. And in fact, a 19th century conflict may be helpful to note this isn't the first time the two sides have butted heads and in fact a 19th century conflict may be responsible for some missing heads in the Nova Scotia legislature.

It was a boundary dispute between New Brunswick and Maine and they were fighting over forestry products and the story is that one of the MLAs got really quite upset about this and he looked around in the province house and he saw these eagles. David McDonald head librarian at the Nova Scotia legislature talking about one of the building's most interesting design details. Small plaster eagles sculpted into window and door frames. While some are still intact, many are missing their heads. An anti-American act of vandalism according to legend. One that occurred during that boundary dispute in the late 1830s.

Which saw the United States acquire a chunk of territory. A development that provoked strong feelings over in Halifax. He apparently took out his walking stick and whacked off their heads. According to one telling, it was the Nova Scotia MLA Lawrence O'Connor Doyle who decapitated the decorative birds and the ones that kept their heads were the ones that were out of reach of his walking stick. McDonald cautions, it's all based on folklore and there's no definitive proof of what happened.

But as cross border tension simmers again for the sake of plaster eagles everywhere, let's hope calmer heads prevail. Thank you for joining us. This has been Your World Tonight for Monday, February 3rd. I'm Susan Bonner. Talk to you again.