【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

After Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau publicly criticized the United States and its trade policies, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Trudeau got into a "verbal battle." Previously, Yellen unilaterally announced that Trudeau had retracted his Davos remarks, but was quickly refuted by Trudeau.

Seeing that Trudeau was "unshakable," Yellen seemed to have run out of patience and directly made a threat.

On January 28 local time, Yellen gave an interview with American Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) and warned Trudeau: "In my investment career, I've seen many technocrats try to transition into politicians, and the results are often unsatisfactory."

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said that Yellen was here criticizing Trudeau's political experience as the governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.

"So, I advise Prime Minister Trudeau not to provoke disputes before the USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement) review, just to gain some cheap political points," Yellen said sharply, "You are either working for your political career or for the Canadian people."

He continued to threaten, saying that Trudeau initially "rose to power with anti-American and anti-Trump rhetoric," and "when you negotiate with a country whose economy is several times larger than yours and is your largest trading partner, continuing this stance isn't a good sign."

Regarding the USMCA review, Yellen pointed out: "I think we will achieve a good result, but the process may not be smooth."

Yellen interviewed on January 28, again pointing at Trudeau. CNBS video screenshot

Earlier this month, Trudeau at the World Economic Forum in Davos pointed out that the so-called "rule-based international order" was dead, and called on medium-sized countries to unite to avoid becoming "snacks" in the game of great powers.

Although this statement did not name the United States, it was widely seen as a public rebuttal to the Trump administration's unilateralist approach.

This speech enraged U.S. President Trump. He criticized Canada for being "ungrateful," referred to Trudeau as "governor," and once again threatened Canada with a 100% tariff, citing the China-Canada free trade agreement.

Trudeau responded that Canada "obviously" had not negotiated a free trade agreement with China. He also pointed out that Trump's recent frequent tariff threats were meant to make a move ahead of the upcoming USMCA renewal negotiations. Many trade analysts believe that Trump and his negotiation team may use this opportunity to pressure Canada to make more concessions in multiple areas.

Yellen and Trudeau

On January 26 local time, Trump and Trudeau spoke on the phone. However, after that, Yellen and Trudeau got into a "verbal battle." After the call, Yellen said that Trudeau had retracted his "unfortunate remarks" at Davos. But Trudeau gave a completely different account the next day.

"What do you think about Yellen saying that you 'retracted' your speech at Davos?"

Upon hearing the journalist's question, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau sighed helplessly and then shook his head. He sighed and said, "This needs to be clear, and I also told (Trump) president that every word I said at Davos was sincere."

Trudeau also said that he informed Trump that Canada was the first country to understand the changes in the U.S. trade policy he was pushing, and was responding to relevant measures. "I introduced to him our trade arrangements with China, and explained our actions: twelve new agreements reached in four continents within six months, which impressed him. At the same time, I also outlined our future plans."

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7600579851741020715/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.