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Canada to impose $3.6B in tariffs in response to Trump's move against Canadian aluminium
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland says Canada will respond to but not escalate a dispute with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum imports. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The federal government will spend the next month consulting with Canadians about which U.S. metals products to target with retaliatory tariffs as a new trade dispute flares up, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday.
The government intends to impose $3.6 billion in punitive counter-measures after spending 30 days consulting with business leaders and other Canadians about potential targets from a preliminary list.
"Canada will respond swiftly and strongly," Freeland told a news conference.
She made the announcement a day after U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on certain aluminum products, ending a recent period of calm on the U.S.-Canada trade front.
The products being targeted by the U.S. are used as raw materials in other aluminum-based goods, and comprised slightly more than half of Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S. over the past year.
Freeland said Canada would seek to avoid escalating the dispute. She said the retaliation would be reciprocal and limited in scope.
But she blasted the Trump administration — calling it the most protectionist in U.S. history. She called its rationale for new tariffs "ludicrous" and "absurd."
She also said Americans would suffer more than anyone else — for example, she predicted a price increase on the very washing machines made at the Ohio plant where Trump announced the tariffs.
"The United States has taken the absurd decision to harm its own people at a time when its economy is suffering its deepest crisis since the Great Depression," she said.
"Any American who buys a can of beer or a soda or a car or a bike will suffer. In fact, the washing machines Trump stood in front of yesterday will get more expensive."
She called the tariffs "unnecessary, unwarranted and entirely unacceptable," and said "a trade dispute is the last thing anyone needs" during an economic crisis.
The business community also lambasted Trump.
"Here we go again," said Maryscott Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council, saying this is an especially bad time to trigger a trade war.
'Bad idea'
"Poor timing, bad idea. I don't know what else to say."
In the U.S., a Wall Street Journal editorial accused Trump of retreating to his favourite play — tariffs — in the hope of salvaging his struggling re-election bid.
"[This is] Mr. Trump at his policy worst," said the paper, whose conservative editorial board usually supports Trump, but frequently criticizes him on trade policy.
Canada's premiers are pressing Ottawa to punch back.
Ontario's Doug Ford began a news conference Friday by raising the issue, unprompted. He said he feared steel tariffs might also be imminent, and expressed his annoyance with Trump.
"I just have to say how disappointed I am with President Trump right now," Ford said.
"Who would do this [now, in difficult economic times]? Well, President Trump did this.... And I encouraged the deputy prime minister to put retaliatory tariffs as close as possible."
Quebec Premier François Legault, whose province is an aluminum-producing hub, echoed the sentiment. He tweeted that he'd asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to impose counter-tariffs.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland says Canada will respond to but not escalate a dispute with the United States after President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Canadian aluminum imports. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The federal government will spend the next month consulting with Canadians about which U.S. metals products to target with retaliatory tariffs as a new trade dispute flares up, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday.
The government intends to impose $3.6 billion in punitive counter-measures after spending 30 days consulting with business leaders and other Canadians about potential targets from a preliminary list.
"Canada will respond swiftly and strongly," Freeland told a news conference.
She made the announcement a day after U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed tariffs of 10 per cent on certain aluminum products, ending a recent period of calm on the U.S.-Canada trade front.
The products being targeted by the U.S. are used as raw materials in other aluminum-based goods, and comprised slightly more than half of Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S. over the past year.
Freeland said Canada would seek to avoid escalating the dispute. She said the retaliation would be reciprocal and limited in scope.
But she blasted the Trump administration — calling it the most protectionist in U.S. history. She called its rationale for new tariffs "ludicrous" and "absurd."
She also said Americans would suffer more than anyone else — for example, she predicted a price increase on the very washing machines made at the Ohio plant where Trump announced the tariffs.
"The United States has taken the absurd decision to harm its own people at a time when its economy is suffering its deepest crisis since the Great Depression," she said.
"Any American who buys a can of beer or a soda or a car or a bike will suffer. In fact, the washing machines Trump stood in front of yesterday will get more expensive."
She called the tariffs "unnecessary, unwarranted and entirely unacceptable," and said "a trade dispute is the last thing anyone needs" during an economic crisis.
The business community also lambasted Trump.
"Here we go again," said Maryscott Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council, saying this is an especially bad time to trigger a trade war.
'Bad idea'
"Poor timing, bad idea. I don't know what else to say."
In the U.S., a Wall Street Journal editorial accused Trump of retreating to his favourite play — tariffs — in the hope of salvaging his struggling re-election bid.
"[This is] Mr. Trump at his policy worst," said the paper, whose conservative editorial board usually supports Trump, but frequently criticizes him on trade policy.
Canada's premiers are pressing Ottawa to punch back.
Ontario's Doug Ford began a news conference Friday by raising the issue, unprompted. He said he feared steel tariffs might also be imminent, and expressed his annoyance with Trump.
"I just have to say how disappointed I am with President Trump right now," Ford said.
"Who would do this [now, in difficult economic times]? Well, President Trump did this.... And I encouraged the deputy prime minister to put retaliatory tariffs as close as possible."
Quebec Premier François Legault, whose province is an aluminum-producing hub, echoed the sentiment. He tweeted that he'd asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to impose counter-tariffs.
