Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has announced a retaliatory measure against President Donald Trump’s new tariffs by imposing 25% levies on a range of U.S. imports.
During a news conference, Trudeau stated that tariffs would be applied to C$155 billion ($107 billion) worth of U.S. goods.
Tariffs on C$30 billion will take effect on Tuesday, coinciding with the implementation of Trump’s tariffs, while duties on the remaining C$125 billion will be enforced within 21 days.
As relations between the long-time allies, who share the world’s longest land border, reach a new low, Trudeau warned Americans that Trump’s actions would have significant consequences for them.
“Tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk, potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities,” Trudeau said, addressing U.S. citizens.
“They will raise costs for you, including food at the grocery store and gas at the pump.”
Trade war
Trudeau’s announcement came just hours after Trump ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China, risking a trade war that economists warn could slow global growth and reignite inflation.
- Trump also announced a 10% tariff on all energy imports from Canada.
- The Canadian leader specified that the tariffs would include American beer, wine, and bourbon, as well as fruits and fruit juices, including orange juice from Trump’s home state of Florida. Canada would also target goods such as clothing, sports equipment, and household appliances.
- The United States’ biggest trading partners are responding after President Donald Trump followed through on his threats of imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. The Trump administration plans to impose levies of 25% on goods from Canada and 10% on energy products from the country starting Tuesday. Goods from Mexico will be subject to tariffs of 25%, while imports from China will face 10%.
Trump claims the tariffs are necessary to “protect Americans” and promises to maintain the duties until what he describes as a national emergency in the U.S. over illicit drugs, fentanyl, and undocumented migration ends.
What you should know
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has also ordered retaliatory tariffs, while China has promised “countermeasures,” asserting that the U.S. tariffs seriously violate World Trade Organization rules.
- US President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canada and Mexico is expected to hit the two countries hard, as trade makes up 70 percent of both economies’ GDP, according to the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (Comtrade).
- According to Comtrade, 78 percent of Canada’s $567bn in yearly exports goes to the US, as does 80 percent of Mexico’s $593bn.
In contrast, the US, which imports $3.17 trillion worth of goods and commodities every year, gets only 14 and 15 percent of that from Canada and Mexico, respectively, leaving it with many other trading partners and options for imports.
