Trump trade shifts give China opening

Amid erratic policies, U.S. partners are considering deals with Beijing and others.

- BY PAUL WISEMAN

MAURO PIMENTEL AFP/Getty Images

EUROPEAN Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva discuss a South American trade pact with the EU.

America’s top trading partners are responding to President Trump’s belligerent and unpredictable trade policies — including his announcement Saturday to impose tariffs on eight European allies for opposing U.S. designs on acquiring Greenland—by trying to take their business elsewhere.

Canada broke with the United States on Friday, slashing its 100% import tax on Chinese electric vehicles in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, particularly canola seeds.

“It’s a huge declaration of realignment in Canada’s economic relations,” said Edward Alden, who studies trade issues as senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The economic threat from the United States is now perceived by Canadians as far bigger than the economic threat from China. So this is a big deal.”

Canada repeatedly has been the target of Trump's impulsive wrath. In October, for instance, he said he was imposing a 10% tariff on Canadian imports as a reprisal for Ontario's provincial government airing an advertisement that criticized the president's go-to diplomatic tariff tool.

He didn’t follow through on the increase, but tariffs on some key Canadian sectors including steel and aluminum remain.But Friday's deal with China is a potentially perilous one for Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, who risks retribution from Trump on the eve of negotiations over the renewal of a North American trade pact that is crucial to Canadian businesses.

U.S. trade partners seek alternatives

Canada is not alone in looking for alternatives to America’s massive market as Trump slaps large tariffs on imports in an attempt to strong-arm other countries into moving production to the United States.