Canada has announced it will impose tariffs on a wide range of key American industries including cosmetics, dairy, wood products and outdoor equipment in the coming weeks, as it retaliates roughly “dollar for dollar” against levies imposed by the US.
Focused response to US tariffs
On Tuesday, Canada’s finance and industry ministers announced the government’s “focused response” to what it sees as unfair tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on Canadian products, which took effect on Saturday after trade talks collapsed late on Friday.
The White House claimed it was using section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to protest against “discriminatory” trade policies by Canada, including the provincial ban on US alcohol – a ban that was only implemented in protest against tariffs imposed on Canadian goods last year.
Retaliatory measures detailed
The prime minister, Mark Carney, had previously pledged a “dollar-for-dollar” response from his government after roughly 5% of exports to the US were singled out by the White House.
The retaliatory Canadian measures will cover C$27.6bn (£14.6bn) in imports and are meant to target key industries including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper.
The list from Ottawa has more than 700 items, with most of the tariffs set at 25% or 50%. A small group of items, including air conditioning units and tool parts, will face a lower 15% tariff. The levies will be effective starting 8 September and only apply to goods originating from the US.
Government and business response
In announcing the retaliatory measures, the finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, said the country was united in its fight against the US, telling attenders that Canada remained “masters of our own home”.
The industry minister, Mélanie Joly, called on businesses and consumers to buy Canadian goods as part of a broader “resistance” movement in the trade war. “You have power,” she said.
The government also announced more than C$7bn in support for businesses affected by the latest tariffs, adding to more than C$20bn in support announced over the past 18 months.
Trump’s remarks and trade war escalation
Canada’s decision to retaliate means both countries have doubled down on a trade war that could cost billions.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he was giving “serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” – reminiscent of his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Others pointed out that Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, was named after the lake, not the other way around.
Trump’s frustration with Ontario in particular stems from his feud with the province’s premier, Doug Ford, who called the president a “loser” and the “king of bankruptcies” and told the US president to “kiss my ass”. He also threatened to cut electricity and rare earth metal exports to the US.
Trump called Ford a “flunky” of “Governor Carney” warned “these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!”
Trump later alluded to revelations that his trade negotiators had looked to weaken French language rules, saying he would “never interfere” with Canadians speaking French, calling it a “lie … made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support”. Trump later added: “I love French Canadians!”
