'A mistake': Trump's ex-ambassador says tariffs violate President's own trade pact

A former ambassador to Canada blasted president Donald Trump's tariffs as a "mistake" and violation of a trade agreement he reached in his first term.

Bruce Heyman, who served as ambassador from 2014 to 2017 under former president Barack Obama, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that it was essential for the Trump administration to avoid a full-blown trade war with its northern neighbor, which responded to his 25-percent duty with a corresponding toll.

"It's critical – it's probably the most important thing that they are focusing on internationally, barring the issues with Ukraine," Heyman said. "Canada is our best friend, and best friend – I don't mean that lightly. I mean, they've been there for us in every difficult moment that our country has ever faced, and we share this incredible border together. We do trade, and I'll come back to trade in just a second, but we also protect ourselves militarily. We share the resources of the Great Lakes together, and the Canadians have been there for every difficult moment that we've had – 9/11. I mean, we've had plays, Broadway shows about the relationship we have with Canada, and 'Come From Away' – we had books and movies written about how Canada has been there for us in Iran, dealing with the diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis."

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"This is a special relationship, and what I think the Trump administration is missing is that it's based on trust," he added. "You know, George Shultz wrote on the occasion of his 100th birthday that the coin of the realm is, if there's trust in the room, good things happen, and if there isn't trust in the room, good things don't happen."

The tariffs likely violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump reached in 2018, according to the former diplomat, but he said the stated reasons for them don't add up.

"Trust is built over a long period of time," Heyman added. "The Canadians have trusted us for many decades, as we have trusted them. But we signed an agreement under the first Trump administration to update NAFTA to USMCA. It was a trade agreement, and these tariffs are a direct opposition to that agreement, which we all signed and shook hands, and Donald Trump said this was the greatest trade deal ever, and so all of these other narratives that are coming out don't fit. It just doesn't fit, the fentanyl doesn't fit, the migration, the level of trade, the deficit we have – all of these seem like six or eight different excuses to put a tariff on Canada, which I believe is a mistake."

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