By Josh Wingrove Bloomberg Thu., Jan. 17, 2019 Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau is striking an upbeat tone on the fate of his country’s economy, even in the face of global trade shocks and a brewing feud with China. Morneau, speaking to reporters Wednesday in Sherbooke, Quebec, downplayed the long-term trade impact of Canada-China tensions and of Brexit. The finance minister will present a budget in the coming months that will carry Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals into an election this autumn. “Private sector economists are all looking towards a period of sustained growth, so we’re not actually looking right now with any expectation of difficult times,” Morneau said. “We always need to be worried about being resilient in the face of potential challenges. With the strongest job numbers we’ve seen in over four decades, we’re in a positive situation. Our goal of course is to figure out how we maintain that growth.” Canada relies heavily on exports to drive its economy, but trouble is brewing. The U.S., its top trading partner, continues to levy tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. Morneau said he pressed U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a meeting in Washington this month to lift those tariffs. “We talked about from our perspective the importance of removing the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and I’m continuing to be engaged in that, as are my colleagues,” he said, referring to the section of U.S. trade law that was used to impose the levies. Mnuchin “gave… [Read full story]
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