Ottawa Now - U.S. President Trump hitting Canada with 50 percent tariffs on August 19th

Canadian Premiers are meeting in Charlottetown this week for their annual sitdown. It comes at a tense time for the country, as the trade war with the United States appears to be escalating yet again. On Monday night, American President Donald Trump dropped a political bombshell – a 50% tariff on an array of Canadian goods. Some of those goods, in fact, are currently covered under CUSMA. We are talking toilet paper, plywood, video game consoles, cement, clothing, ice skates, and hockey sticks. The proposed tariffs would cover roughly $28 billion worth of annual Canadian exports to America, and they would kick in within the next 30 days. The reason for this incoming barrage? Once again, the White House claiming that Canada is an unfair trading partner. What type of damage could the incoming August barrage cause to Canada’s economy? How should our country respond? Moshe Lander is a Canadian economist and Senior Lecturer at Concordia University. He joins Kristy Cameron on Ottawa Now.