U.S. Commerce Secretary Threatens Canada
Regarding the new China-Canada trade agreement, President Trump had previously appeared "generous," but U.S. officials have directly threatened Canada.
On January 22 local time, U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutenberg gave an interview to Bloomberg while attending the Davos Forum in Switzerland. When talking about Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's recent efforts to improve Sino-Canadian trade relations, he dismissed them as "political noise."
Rutenberg also spoke on behalf of Trump, stating that Trump would not let Canada have it easy in the USMCA negotiations.
"This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen," Rutenberg unreservedly intervened and criticized Canadian internal affairs in the interview, and also recklessly said, "Do you think China will open its economy and accept exports from Canada?"
Trudeau visited China last week and signed a China-Canada trade agreement. During his visit in China, he also stated that China is a "more predictable" trading partner than the United States.
In response, Rutenberg was extremely dissatisfied, claiming, "It should be regarded as political noise from a prime minister."
He then speculated: "I don't think (Trudeau) is serious, because he ignored the mathematical relationship of Canada's $30 trillion economic ties with the United States. They now have these things, and they can't possibly change them."
Rutenberg said that Canada's market access with the United States is "the second best agreement in the world," second only to Mexico.
During the interview, Rutenberg showed no restraint in his bullying attitude. He implied that improved Sino-Canadian relations could become a negotiation topic for revising the USMCA. He revealed that the renegotiation of USMCA may likely take place "in the late summer and midsummer this year."
"Do you think the U.S. president would say in USMCA negotiations, 'You should continue to enjoy the second-best agreement in the world'?" Rutenberg warned Canada, questioning Canada's choice to import Chinese electric vehicles and take other measures to strengthen trade with China.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855069588587719/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.