Canadians Respond to U.S. Tariffs and Insults to Trudeau, Boycott American Products

The ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada has taken a new and unexpected turn, with citizens directly responding to the Trump administration’s actions. Several Canadian citizens have begun to boycott the sale of American products and have canceled their trips to the United States.

Several Canadians took to Twitter with the hashtags #BuyCanadian, #BoycottUSProducts, and #BoycottUSA. They paired the hashtags with pictures of “Trump free” groceries, refusing to buy products like Kentucky bourbon, California wine, and Florida oranges. They also avoided purchasing items from companies such as McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart. Other users showed that they canceled scheduled trips to the U.S. for the summer, and choosing to stay in their home country instead.

One user, @honestlyna, particularly stood out, as she tweeted:      “F –k you Trump. We just booked a $3,000 vacation to beautiful British Columbia. Happy anniversary to us. #Canadastrong #BuyCanadian #F***Tariffs.” The users are promoting the consumption of local Canadian products, or any products which are distributed and produced in countries other than the US.

They have demonstrated their disagreement with the planned tariffs on their products recently by using harsh words when referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow stated that the man “really kind of stabbed us in the back.”

White House adviser Peter Navarro worsened the situation with his controversial interview on Fox News this past Sunday. He stated: “There’s a special place in hell for any foreign leader that engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump and then tries to stab him in the back on the way out the door, and that’s what bad-faith Justin Trudeau did with that stunt press conference.”  Trudeau was repeatedly asked about Navarro’s comments and responded in a level-headed way, stating that Canada does not engage in attacks towards any single specific individual.

The United States’ tariff-based plan has been designed as a response to what the White House has deemed ‘unfair trade practices’ from Canada, Mexico, and members of the European Union. The U.S. recently stated its decision to raise tariffs up to 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum on the E.U., Canada, and Mexico, supposedly out of concern for national security.

Trudeau previously responded to the announcement of the U.S. sanctions by stating:

“One of the things that I have to admit I’m having a lot of trouble getting around is the idea that this entire thing is coming about because the president and the administration have decided that Canada and Canadian steel and aluminum is a national security threat to the United States. The idea that we are somehow a national security threat to the United States is quite frankly insulting and unacceptable.”

Canada is not the only country to have responded negatively to Trump’s reforms and his attitude during the past summit in Quebec. Fellow G-7 members and European countries have also shown their disagreement with Trump’s procedures. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Trump’s withdrawal “depressing” and “sobering”.

Merkel stated: “We won’t let ourselves be ripped off again and again. Instead, we act then too.” She then proceeded to confirm that European countries are ready to apply counter-measures to his tariffs and that they will no longer rely on the U.S. for world trade.

Another notable response to the situation came from European Council President Donald Tusk, who used Navarro’s words against him by stating on Twitter: “There is a special place in heaven for @JustinTrudeau. Canada, thank you for the perfect organization of G7!”