M^Me Freeland made the “polite reminder” Wednesday during a speech hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

The finance minister and deputy prime minister of Canada is in the American capital for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

She first praised the Biden administration and the Inflation Reduction Act, that controversial new law that envisages more than $369 billion in climate spending. It’s a “historic and transformative” bill that will “change the world for the better,” said Mr.^Me Free country.

The importance of the United States’ involvement in the fight against climate change, just six years after former President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Paris Agreement, cannot be overstated, she added.

“It’s good for the United States, it’s good for Canada and it’s good for the world,” the deputy prime minister said.

But she acknowledged that the US approach to adopting a low-carbon economy – “the most significant transformation since the industrial revolution,” she said – has sparked consternation in some parts of the world.

European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, say the bill gives North American manufacturers an unfair advantage, along with other incentives that may put rival countries under pressure.

Therein lies the danger, said Mr.^Me Outdoor, Wednesday.

M^Me Freeland warned that previous efforts to encourage investment and boost economic growth had resulted in corporate tax rate cuts. The danger is that this will undermine national tax revenues, which are essential to the health of the middle class.

Getting involved in a subsidy war risks leading to “mutually sabotaging competition” from which nobody would benefit in the long run, she said.

“A war over corporate subsidies might benefit some shareholders, but it would drain our treasuries and weaken the social safety nets that underpin effective democracies,” said Mr.^Me Free country.

“It is in our mutual interest to work together as friends, partners and allies to ensure our incentives drive innovation and investment, rather than creating a vicious spiral.” »

involve workers

M^Me Freeland also urged his Washington audience to see free and fair trade as an engine of growth, provided it does not exclude the working class and automatically shift manufacturing jobs to the lowest international bidder or enrich corporations at the expense of workers.

“Workers in Canada, the United States, and democracies around the world have long recognized that they are coming close to the straw in competing with the voiceless proletariat in the factories of authoritarian economies,” she said.

We must do everything in our power to create a level playing field for our people.

No country can do everything alone, added Mr.^Me Free country.

“Ultimately, we all strive to build clean economies that protect workers. We must never forget that free and fair trade, done right, can help us achieve this goal. »

M^Me Using Russia’s war in Ukraine as a cautionary tale, Freeland demonstrated the dangers of accepting mutual economic benefits that would serve as insurance against future aggression.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “clarified a lesson that China has also been trying to teach us for years: economic security is an urgent national security issue.”

Hence the importance of “friendshoring,” a term used by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to strengthen key supply chains by strengthening economic and commercial ties with trusted allies who share the same ideas.

In defense of press freedom

M^Me Freeland also took the opportunity to defend Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in Russia last month for spying on allegations of espionage that the United States and the newspaper say are patently false.

“Personally, as a former journalist, I am very, very concerned about the arrest of Evan Gershkovich. I think everyone should be,” she said.

As Canada faced China’s continued arbitrary detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, it was important to have the support of other countries around the world, including the United States, she added.

“So I think it’s really, really important that we all urgently demand Evan’s release. It crosses that line that should be incredibly inviolable, which is the freedom of journalists to work.”