Chrystia Freeland worried U.S. would use Freedom Convoy for protectionist measures
Freeland #Freeland
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland testified Thursday that a difficult call with a top adviser to the U.S. president during Freedom Convoy border blockades had her “very worried” that American politicians would try to bring in devastating protectionist measures against Canada.
“What was happening was profoundly jeopardizing the Canadian economy and putting investment in Canada at risk,” she told the Public Order Emergency Commission.
Freeland testified on the second last day of Emergencies Act inquiry public hearings that a Feb. 10 call with Brian Deese, director of U.S. President Joe Biden’s national economic council, was a “seminal” moment.
She said Deese told her the U.S. was deeply worried that the Ambassador Bridge closure would lead to more auto plant closures. Freeland said getting Deese on the phone often takes weeks, but he called her back immediately during the blockades, which spoke to the American level of concern.
A summary of the call notes that Deese pointed out he was realizing how closely integrated the U.S. and Canadian economies and supply chains were and that “he did not seem to see this as positive.”
“That one conversation was a seminal one for me. And it was the moment when I realized as a country, somehow, we had to find a way to bring this to an end,” Freeland said.
She said a call between Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was set up within 24 hours of the call with Deese, which is something that usually takes weeks.
She said the government had already been pushing back against U.S. measures to bring in tax incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) that would have destroyed the Canadian auto industry.
“These incentives. frankly, were quite intentionally designed to drive all of the building of the new fledgling EV industry into the U.S. only,” she said.
She said ever since the NAFTA deal was re-negotiated there is ongoing pressure by some U.S. politicians to cut Canada out of U.S. supply chains to support their local industries. She said she didn’t want to give those people ammunition.
“There are plenty of Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, who would love any excuse to impose more protectionist measures on us.”
More to come …