作者：凯瑟琳·勒维克 2024 年 11 月 14 日
https://nationalpost.com/news/chrystia-freeland-canada-very-aligned-with-trump-team-on-china?
弗里兰表示，她相信她的政府比特朗普第一任期期间处于更好的地位——她指出了加拿大-美国-墨西哥自由贸易协定
渥太华——副总理兼财政部长克里斯蒂亚·弗里兰认为，中国可能是将新特朗普白宫和自由党政府联系在一起的纽带。
尽管当选总统唐纳德·特朗普最亲密的盟友对加拿大，尤其是总理贾斯汀·特鲁多发表了严厉的言论，但弗里兰表示，她仍然毫不气馁地希望与即将上任的美国政府找到共同点。
周三，在加拿大-美国内阁委员会会议结束后，弗里兰表示，与特朗普2.0合作的最佳方式是寻求“双赢的结果”。
“我认为对华立场是加拿大和美国之间明确达成共识和共同做法的领域之一，”她表示，并补充说，这是特朗普和特鲁多在美国大选后第二天的谈话中谈到的话题之一。
弗里兰表示，她相信她的政府现在的处境比特朗普第一任期期间更好——她指的是特朗普和前贸易代表罗伯特·莱特希泽谈判达成的加拿大-美国-墨西哥自由贸易协定。
“这项协议意味着，与第一届特朗普政府相比，加拿大与美国的关系更好、更牢固，”她说。
弗里兰补充说，另一个显著的不同是，自谈判以来，加拿大对中国的立场“强硬”，指出最近对中国电动汽车征收 100% 的关税，对中国钢铁和铝征收 25% 的关税。
她称这是“正确的做法”，以对抗中国电动汽车产能过剩政策，这些政策旨在淹没其他市场并破坏加拿大工人和工业。
“这也使我们成为当今世界上唯一一个在对华经济政策上与美国完全一致的国家，这表明我们的基本经济利益是如此一致，”她说。
“我们在对华问题上与美国政府非常一致，这对他们来说是一个核心问题。”
自特朗普获胜以来，弗里兰一直带头推动政府在加美关系方面的努力。她会见了钢铁、汽车、能源和人工智能领域的领导人，并将于周五会见核能领域的领导人。
加拿大钢铁生产商协会主席兼首席执行官凯瑟琳·科布登在一份声明中表示，加拿大现在“与特朗普第一任政府时期的处境不同”，当时对加拿大钢铁和铝征收了高额关税。
当时，自由党政府对一系列美国产品征收报复性关税，如波旁威士忌、扑克牌和甘草。一年后，关税被取消。
科布登说：“首先，我们了解到，由于两国经济高度一体化，两国征收的关税对两国都有害。”
科布登补充说，加拿大“显著改进了贸易政策工具，与美国紧密保持一致”，对中国进口产品征收关税，她表示，她的组织认为这种情况代表着“加拿大与美国合作的机会”。
“话虽如此，加拿大必须努力确保美国政府认识到这些根本性变化，并确保加拿大继续跟上我们的贸易工具，打击不公平钢铁贸易商不断发展的做法，”她说。
但特朗普的一些高级助手和亲密盟友并不喜欢特鲁多和他的自由党政府，并公开希望保守党领袖皮埃尔·波利耶夫来接替他。
特朗普的下一任国家安全顾问迈克·沃尔兹长期以来一直批评特鲁多对中国的立场，并毫不含糊地表示特鲁多必须下台。
5 月，沃尔兹在 X 上为波利耶夫欢呼，称他“将在 2025 年（最终）打发特鲁多下台，并开始帮助加拿大摆脱目前的进步困境。”
特朗普负责政策的副幕僚长斯蒂芬·米勒称加拿大“越来越专制和专制”，并称总理是“极左特鲁多”。
而特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克已成为特朗普最亲密的盟友之一，他在自己拥有的X上写道，总理“将在即将到来的选举中下台”。
弗里兰表示，特朗普团队的批评对她来说并不意外。
“事实是，我们的政府，甚至许多加拿大人，与即将上任的特朗普政府的许多成员的观点不同，”她说。
“这绝不会也不会妨碍两国建立务实、尊重和有效的关系，我们知道情况就是这样
因为过去就是这样的。”
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calevesque@postmedia.com
Freeland confident Liberal government is 'very aligned' with Trump team on China
By Catherine Lévesque Nov 14, 2024https://nationalpost.com/news/chrystia-freeland-canada-very-aligned-with-trump-team-on-china?
Freeland says she is convinced that her government is in a better position than it was during Trump’s first mandate — pointing to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement
OTTAWA — Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland thinks China could be the tie that binds the new Trump White House and the Liberal government.
Despite harsh words from President-elect Donald Trump’s closest allies toward Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in particular, Freeland says she remains undeterred in wanting to find common ground with the incoming U.S. administration.
Speaking after a Canada-U.S. cabinet committee meeting on Wednesday, she said the best way to collaborate with Trump 2.0 is to look for “win-win outcomes.”
“I think the position on China is one area of clearly shared views and shared approach between Canada and the United States,” she said, adding it was one of the subjects that Trump and Trudeau touched on during their conversation the day after the U.S. election.
Freeland says she is convinced that her government is in a better position than it was during Trump’s first mandate — pointing to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement negotiated by Trump and former trade representative Robert Lighthizer.
“That agreement means that Canada is on a better and stronger footing vis-à-vis the U.S. than we were with the first Trump administration,” she said.
Another significant difference, added Freeland, is that Canada has “toughened” its position on China since those negotiations, pointing to the recent tariffs of 100 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles and 25 per cent on Chinese steel and aluminum.
She described it as the “right thing to do” to counter China’s policies of EV overcapacity meant to flood other markets and undermine Canadian workers and industries.
“It also makes us the only country in the world which is fully aligned with the U.S. today when it comes to economic policy vis-à-vis China and that speaks to the fact that our fundamental economic interests are so aligned,” she said.
“We are very aligned with this U.S. administration on the issue of China, which is a central issue for them.”
Freeland has been spearheading the government’s efforts on Canada-U.S. relations since Trump’s win. She has met with leaders in the steel, automotive, energy and artificial intelligence sectors, and will be meeting with leaders in the nuclear sector Friday.
In a statement, Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, agreed that Canada is “not in the same place” as it was during the first Trump administration, which saw hefty tariffs imposed on Canadian steel and aluminum.
At the time, the Liberal government shot back with retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of U.S. products, such as bourbon, playing cards and licorice. The tariffs were lifted a year later.
“For one thing, we learned that the tariffs imposed by both countries were harmful on both sides of the border as a result of our highly integrated economies,” said Cobden.
Cobden added that Canada has “significantly advanced its trade policy tools to strongly align with the United States” with tariffs on Chinese imports, and she said her organization feels this situation represents “an opportunity for Canada to work with the United States.”
“That said, Canada must do the work to ensure the U.S. government recognizes these fundamental changes and that Canada continues to keep pace with our trade tools to combat ever-evolving practices of unfair steel traders,” she said.
But some of Trump’s top aides and close allies are no fans of Trudeau and his Liberal government and are openly hoping for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to replace him.
Trump’s next national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has long criticized Trudeau’s stance on China and said in no uncertain terms Trudeau has to go.
In May, Waltz cheered on Poilievre on X, saying he is “going to send Trudeau packing in 2025 (finally) and start digging Canada out of the progressive mess it’s in.”
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, called Canada “increasingly authoritarian and despotic” and called the prime minister “far-left Trudeau.”
And Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has become one of Trump’s closest allies, wrote on X, which he owns, that the prime minister “will be gone in the upcoming election.”
Freeland said the criticism from Trump’s team comes as no surprise to her.
“The reality is that our government and indeed many Canadians have views that are different from the views of many members of the incoming Trump administration,” she said.
“That, in no way, needs to nor will it impede having a practical, respectful and effective relationship between the two countries, and we know that’s the case because that was the case in the past.”
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
