U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating trade tactics are forcing Canada to reconsider economic ties with its neighbor, warned a Japan-based Canadian international affairs expert.
Since taking office, Trump has introduced aggressive tariff policies that have strained relations with Canada, one of the United States' closest allies, announcing a 25 percent additional tariff on Canadian exports earlier this week before agreeing to delay their imposition for 30 days.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, a Canadian professor at the Temple University Japan Campus in Tokyo, emphasized that the move may have already had unintended consequences.
"(He) has done something that nobody else was able to do in Canada for years, which is to unite the whole political class of Canada. We've seen the whole political class in Canada united against Trump. So that's quite an achievement by the American President. Canada is one of the United States' closest allies, if not the closest ally. Diplomacy runs on trust, it runs on mutual feelings of benevolence. And that's not what we have seen from the Trump administration so," said Hardy-Chartrand.
"Now, his repeated threats to annex Canada have been just another baffling change or aspect of his new policies. And that is, again, what is causing a lot of anxiety in Canada because they (the U.S.) are our biggest trading partner, they are extremely important to our prosperity, and now that we have a leader like this, there's a lot of uncertainty ahead for the next four years," added the professor.
He stressed that Canada and other countries are now accelerating efforts to diversify their trade partnerships, recognizing that over-reliance on the U.S. may not be worth the risk.
"I think indeed this is going to provide further impetus for countries around the world, especially countries that have longstanding trading partnerships with the United States to try to hedge their bets a little more and diversify their trading partners. We are seeing that in Canada. For a few years, Canadians, Canadian officials have talked about diversifying our trade partners. Right now about 70 percent of Canada's trade goes to the United States. So we're trying to bring that number a little bit further down," he said.
According to the scholar, other U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea are closely watching the U.S.' treatment of Canada and questioning if they too might face similar economic pressure.
"These two countries are looking at the current situation and wondering: If Canada, if even a close ally of the United States is treated as such, that is quite likely that we - South Korea and Japan - are going to be treated as such as well," he said.
The shift could significantly impact global trade, he added, noting that Trump's tactics are contributing to an already fractured global trading system, with long-standing supply chains potentially being reconfigured.
"That might indeed further lead to changes in supply chains, in reconfigurations of different trade partnerships, in trade blocks around the world. And already, of course, as we all know, over the last few years, we've seen an increasing fracturing of the world," said the professor.
"What's going to happen over the next four years may simply add to that global trade instability and reconfiguration of partnerships that we have already been seeing for four years," he said.
Canada, other allies to rethink U.S. trade ties amid Trump's tariff tactic: Canadian expert
Li Yuhua, a farmer-turned forest ranger from a mountainous village in Dulongjiang Town, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has spent nine years protecting the forests in her hometown while helping local people increasing their incomes.
Li's family was once a registered impoverished household, relying mainly on corn farming for living. Things began to change for her family in 2016 when China launched a policy allowing registered impoverished population to work as ecological forest rangers, and Li became one of the first ecological forest rangers in the town.
"When I first began to work as a forest ranger, it was hard for me even to climb mountains, let alone climb rocks and cross rivers. But I told myself that since the country gave me this opportunity, I must do it well. I worked hard to improve my physical fitness and learn new skills, always actively taking the missions of patrolling mountains," said Li.
As Li often wears a colorful, vibrantly striped "Dulong blanket," a traditional clothing of the Dulong ethnic group, the villagers call her the "rainbow ranger."
"I think the name 'Rainbow Ranger' is beautiful. It makes me feel like a rainbow for us women of Dulong ethnic group guarding our homeland," Li said.
Dulong is a mountain-dwelling ethnic group in southwest China. It is one of the least populous of China's 56 ethnic groups, and the people were known for "direct transition" from primitive life to the modern socialist society at the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Most Dulong people live in Dulongjiang Town, where an inhospitable mountainous terrain used to thwart the place's development for decades. The town remained to be one of the poorest areas in Yunnan Province and even in the entire country. Thanks to government inputs and the development of industries with local features, the Dulong people have been experiencing remarkable life changes. In 2018, the Dulong ethnic group shook off poverty as a whole.
Beyond safeguarding forests, Li took the lead in developing non-timber forest-based economy in the town, guiding local residents to grow plants like Chinese black cardamom and wild-simulated lingzhi mushrooms as well as raising cattle and bees.
In 2025, the total output value of the town's non-timber forest-based economy reached nearly 30 million yuan (around 4.3 million U.S. dollars), with the annual average income of 43 households increasing by more than 20,000 yuan (around 2,900 U.S. dollars) each.
Li also established a cooperative for Dulong blanket making, attracting more than 170 women to learn traditional weaving techniques. They have developed 12 types of cultural and creative products, including shawls and scarves, and sold them worldwide through livestreaming, generating wealth for themselves.
"In the past, we only wove blankets for our own use. Now she teaches us to make the cultural and creative products and sell them. Last year, I earned more than 4,000 yuan (around 580 U.S. dollars) from weaving. I spent the money on my children's school fees and new appliances for my house," said Mu Jianying, member of the cooperative.
Li's dedication to both forestry and rural revitalization has earned her widespread recognition. In 2024, she was honored as model of ethnic solidarity and progress and received the title certificate from President Xi Jinping. She was also awarded the title of National March 8 Red-Banner Pacesetter, the highest honor presented by the All-China Women's Federation to the country's outstanding women, ahead of the International Women's Day observed on March 8.
Li said her achievements are the result of collective efforts.
"I often think that one person's strength is very limited, but the strength of a group is great. There are 195 ecological forest rangers like me protecting this land in the Dulongjiang Grand Canyon," she said.
As a female forest ranger, Li shared a message for women ahead of the International Women's Day.
"To mark the International Women's Day, I want to say to all my sisters: No matter what position we are in, as long as we are willing to endure hardship and work hard, we will surely weave our own rainbow," she said.
Forest ranger dedicated to guarding green mountains in Yunnan
