Canada’s Trudeau announces tariffs on US in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs

OTTAWA: Canada will retaliate against President Donald Trump’s new tariffs with 25 per cent levies on a raft of US imports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday (February 1), warning Americans that Trump’s actions would have real consequences for them.

As relations between the long-time allies who share the world’s longest land border reach a new low, Trudeau told a news conference he was slapping tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) of US goods. Those on C$30 billion ($21 billion) will take effect on Tuesday, the same day as Trump’s tariffs, and duties on the remaining C$125 billion ($86 billion) in 21 days, he said.

Trudeau’s announcement came just hours after Trump ordered 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10 per cent on goods from China, risking a trade war that economists say could slow global growth and reignite inflation.

Trump said he would impose 10 per cent tariff on all energy imports from Canada.

The Canadian leader said 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 including clothing, sports equipment and household appliances.

The 9,000-km (5,600-mile) US-Canada border handles over $2.5 billion in trade a day, especially in energy and manufacturing, according to Canadian government data from 2023.

TRUMP’S TARRIFS “DON’T MAKE SENSE”

Canada’s British Columbia Premier David Eby on Saturday (February 1) said the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Canada “don’t make sense”.

Addressing British Columbians in a televised statement, Eby said the tariffs do not achieve Trump’s goal of economic growth for the United States.

He said, “These tariffs don’t make sense. They don’t achieve [Trump’s] goal of economic growth for the United States. We provide so much of what the United States needs. And they are simply unjustified because we’re here to do this work together.”