President Donald Trump isn’t budging in the face of Republican pushback over his Canada tariffs and beef import plan, even as the two key issues threaten to impact races for his party in the midterms.
The US president is instead threatening more tariffs on Canada, and those close to him see no off-ramp yet.
Instead, Trump and Canadian officials are publicly sparring, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford warning that “everything is on the table” for retaliation.
And the Trump administration is also defending the president’s decision to lower tariffs on imported beef and sell it below market prices, with White House spokesman Kush Desai describing the temporary plan as a way “to address a short-term supply crunch.”
Desai said administration officials are still focused on American farmers and “working closely with ranchers to grow America’s cattle-herd size, which is currently at a multi-decade low.”