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TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday called American tariffs “very dumb” and said that US President Donald Trump is appeasing Russia while launching a trade war against Canada.
In a blunt news conference during his final days in office, Trudeau said that Canada would plaster retaliatory tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods in response to Trump’s 25 percent tariffs.
“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” a visibly angry Trudeau said.
Trump imposed tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin. Just after midnight, Trump put 25 percent taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10 percent on Canadian energy.
“What he wants to see is a total collapse of the Canadian economy because that will make it easier to annex us,” Trudeau said. “That is never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.”
Trudeau addressed Trump directly by his first name.
“I want to speak directly to one specific American, Donald,” Trudeau said. “It’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do.”
Later Tuesday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle,” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday.
Lutnick told Fox Business News that the tariffs would not be paused, but that Trump would reach a compromise.
“I think he’s going to figure out, you do more, and I’ll meet you in the middle in some way,” Lutnick said.
In a post on Truth Social earlier Tuesday, Trump said: “Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the US, our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!”
Trump has threatened Canada’s sovereignty, provoking anger in the country. Canadian hockey fans have been booing the American national anthem at recent NHL and NBA games. Trudeau channeled the betrayal that many Canadians are feeling.
“Canadians are hurt. Canadians are angry. We are going to choose to not go on vacation in Florida,” Trudeau said. “We are going to choose to try and buy Canadian products ... and yeah we’re probably going to keep booing the American anthem.”
The premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, said that he would issue a 25 percent export tax on electricity sold to the US and may later cut it off completely if the American tariffs persist. Ontario powered 1.5 million homes in the US in 2023 in Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also told The Associated Press that he would stop the sale of nickel and rare minerals to the US
Ontario and other provinces already began removing American liquor brands from government store shelves. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario sells nearly $1 billion Canadian dollars ($687 million) worth of American wine, beer, spirits and seltzers every year.

WASHINGTON: NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, stranded on the International Space Station since June, said Tuesday he believes Elon Musk’s claim that the billionaire proposed an early rescue plan, but it was ultimately rejected by then-President Joe Biden.
Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams were originally scheduled for an eight-day mission, but their return was complicated when the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing was deemed unsafe for the journey home.
Their prolonged stay has recently become a point of contention, with Musk and President Donald Trump accusing Biden’s administration of abandoning the pair to avoid making Musk look like a savior.
“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual,” said Wilmore, a former Navy test pilot. He admitted he wasn’t privy to the ins and outs of the drama, but added, “I believe him. I don’t know all those details.”
Musk recently clashed online with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who accused him of lying in a Fox News interview when he claimed the astronauts were abandoned for “political reasons.”
Mogensen pointed out that, since the Boeing Starliner was deemed unsafe for return with people aboard, NASA had planned for months to bring Wilmore and Williams back on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September with two spare seats.
No alternative plan has been publicly discussed, and Crew-9’s return has been delayed by SpaceX itself due to setbacks in preparing the Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10, now scheduled for launch on March 12.
Interrupting the standard crew rotation would also be a deviation from protocol, and extended astronaut stays are not unprecedented.
In 2023, Frank Rubio became the first NASA astronaut to spend over a year in space after a meteoroid damaged the Russian Soyuz spacecraft he rode up on.
Similarly, after the Columbia disaster in 2003, when a shuttle disintegrated during re-entry, NASA suspended flights for two years, forcing astronauts to rely on Soyuz and extend their missions.
Musk’s response to Mogensen included a slur for people with intellectual disabilities, sparking backlash from the space community. Former NASA astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly defended Mogensen and criticized the SpaceX founder.
“Obviously, we’ve heard some of these different things that have been said,” Wilmore commented. “We have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump. We appreciate them... and we’re thankful that they are in the positions they’re in.”
Wilmore’s remarks come just days after acting NASA administrator Janet Petro raised eyebrows by stating the agency aimed to put “America first,” echoing Trump’s political slogan.
“We’re going to be putting America first, we’re making America proud, we’re doing this for the US citizens,” she said before a private Moon lander touched down on Sunday — a notable shift from NASA’s longstanding stance that its space achievements were “for all mankind.”