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President Trump changes name of one of the Great Lakes
The U.S. President signed an executive order that changes the name of one of the Great Lakes, swapping it from Lake Ontario for Lake America.
(FOX 2) - The U.S. Department of Interior will now refer to Lake Ontario as Lake America following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
The president signed the order on Thursday in the Oval Office,
Lake Ontario renamed
The president's renaming of one of the five Great Lakes comes amid an escalating spat with Canada as a trade war between the two neighboring countries resumed in August.
What they're saying:
"It directs Sec. Burgum and the Department of Interior to update the geographic names information service to reflect that the lake once known as Lake Ontario will from this day forward be named Lake America," said an aide to the president.
The updated name came a week after the president threatened to rename the lake amid a trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada.
"This is a lake that has most of its volume in the United States. The deepest parts of the lake sit in United States territory, so this reflect this is an American lake," Trump's aide said.
Canada-U.S. Trade War
The backstory:
The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs over the weekend on Canadian goods following the collapse of trade negotiations.
President Donald Trump intensified the confrontation Monday, telling Canadian leaders to "fall in line" or face consequences "far WORSE" than existing tariffs and threatening new 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel.
On Tuesday, Canada struck back and announced retaliatory tariffs. More than 700 U.S.-made products are on Canada's tariffs list, hitting everyday purchases such as:
- Seafood
- Dairy products including cheese
- Clothing
- Cosmetics
- Toilet paper
- Furniture
- Clothing and apparel
- Appliances
- Certain steel and aluminum derivatives
Timeline:
The tariffs on American steel, dairy products, appliances, farm equipment, pulp and paper and electronics take effect Sept. 8 at rates of 15%, 25% and 50%, with Canada matching the corresponding U.S. tariff rate on each product.
Dig deeper:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada and said U.S. demands during the failed talks showed that Americans wanted to "destroy our major industries."
Canadian officials said the goal is not to raise revenue but to protect Canadian companies and reduce U.S. imports.
Later on Tuesday, the White House said in a press release that "Canada has been ripping off the United States for decades," and that Canadian leadership "chose retaliation over partnership."
The Source: The White House was cited for this story.