U.S. trade chief calls Canada’s war rhetoric over tariffs “unhinged”

Jamieson Greer, the top U.S. trade official under President Donald Trump, told one outlet that Canada’s portrayal of the latest U.S. tariffs as a trade war is “unhinged.” He noted the 50% duties, imposed in August, apply to only five percent of Canada’s exports to the United States and warned against inflating the dispute into a “giant thing.” Greer rebuked Prime Minister Mark Carney for labeling the issue a war, emphasizing that tariffs are a routine economic tool.

He said he had offered Trump various response scenarios, and the president subsequently announced bans on Canadian alcohol, motorcycles and several food products, along with other adjustments. In a later release, Greer called Canada’s retaliatory tariffs “senseless” and described the U.S. actions as a natural outcome of Canada’s “discriminatory treatment” of American goods. The comments came before Canada’s own retaliatory measures took effect.