Canadian counter-tariffs set to go into force as Trump says he won’t
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a first tranche of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods will go into force at midnight if the U.S. goes ahead with blanket tariffs on Canadian imports.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures,” Trudeau said in a statement late Monday.
“While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that his long-threatened trade war is going ahead and there’s nothing Canada can do to stop it.
The announcement threatens to upend trade relations between two countries that, for decades, were close partners and friends. The tariffs, which will apply to everything Canada sends south, could lead to job losses, economic devastation, higher inflation and hurt feelings on both sides of the border.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Monday afternoon, Trump said the United States has been “a laughingstock for years and years” and he needs to take trade action against its continental neighbours.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc have been in contact with their American counterparts. Joly says Canada is ready to respond with billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs if U.S. President Donald Trump imposes his tariffs on Tuesday.
‘No room left,’ Trump says.
The president said he wants to punish Canada for a supposedly lax approach to drugs and migrants, even though data shows a border crackdown is already producing results.
“Very importantly, tomorrow, tariffs, 25 per cent on Canada and 25 per cent on Mexico, and that will start. So, they’re gonna have to have a tariff,” Trump said.
Asked if there’s anything Canada can do to try to hold off the tariffs, Trump said: “No room left for Mexico or Canada. They’re all set, they go into effect tomorrow.”
Trump said Canada has allowed fentanyl to flood into the U.S. despite his government’s own data that shows that claim is grossly overstated. About 19.5 kilograms was seized at the northern border last year compared to 9,570 kilograms at the southwestern border.
“It comes in from Canada and it comes in from Mexico, and that’s an important thing to say,” he said.
The federal government had prepared a series of countermeasures that were first released when Trump floated his tariff threat last month.
Trudeau said in his statement the first wave will target $30 billion worth of U.S. goods, with further tariffs on $125 billion worth of products going into force in 21 days.
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