US arms maker warns Canada against stopping sales to Saudi Arabia
General Dynamics Corp, a sprawling American military manufacturer, has warned Canada against acting on its avowed intention of stopping sales of armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia.
The corporation’s Canada chapter said on Monday, "Were Canada to unilaterally terminate the contract, Canada would incur billions of dollars of liability to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada," referring to its subsidiary in London, Ontario.
"Terminating the contract would have a significant negative impact on our highly skilled employees, our supply chain across Canada, and the Canadian defense sector broadly," the statement added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking in an interview aired on Sunday, said that he was looking for a way out of the $13 billion agreement.
He, himself, had previously acknowledged that there would be “huge penalties” if Ottawa turned its back on the deal, Reuters reported.
The premier, known for his trying to portray himself as a human rights advocate, is under pressure to scrap the deal inked by the previous government as Saudi Arabia’s 2015-present war on Yemen continues down its deadly trail.
Besides killing thousands, the war, launched to return Yemen’s former Saudi-allied officials, has brought the impoverished country close to the edge of nationwide famine.
Has he considered not buying their oil? // Justin Trudeau is trying to get Canada out of a multi-billion dollar Saudi arms deal https://t.co/C9VrdEbDDj
— John Hilton-O'Brien (@hiltonjohn) December 18, 2018
‘Unusual’ warning
David Perry, defense analyst at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, meanwhile, called the corp’s warning “unusual,” Reuters added.
He said General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada would normally keep a very low profile. "I can't imagine they are anything other than extremely worried," he said in a phone interview.
The US itself generously provides arms to Saudi Arabia and its allies involved in the war, besides lending logistical support to the invasion.
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