Canada Retaliates Against Trump With Dollar-For-Dollar Tariffs on American Imports

Saying “Canada must respond,” Ottawa will match dollar-for-dollar tariffs President Trump launched over the weekend on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods.Calling the measure “Canada Strong,” the nation’s finance minister, François-Philippe Champagne, says starting September 8, Canada will double its existing countertariffs on American steel and aluminum products from 25 to 50 percent. Furniture, clothing, and electronics imports like phones will also face the 50 percent tariff rate.Goods subject to 25 percent tariffs include appliances, dairy products such as cheese, fish and seafood, and certain steel and aluminum derivative products.“We stand united in our response. We stand united in our resolve. We stand in fighting for Canada,” Mr. Champagne said at a Tuesday morning news conference.The export levies do not extend to Canadian energy and pot ash, which are important imports for Americans; however, the planned tariffs can still hurt American consumers ahead of the midterm elections.Canadian officials noted that they are targeting products that will affect certain states to apply political pressure. Canada is the largest steel customer for 26 American states and a top three customer for 45 states. Canada is also the largest customer for the American car market. Prime Minister Mark Carney says that Canada buys more American-built cars than the United Kingdom, Japan, and China combined.Senator Susan Collins, who faces re-election in November, has warned that the trade war with Canada will increase costs for Maine families. The countertariffs on seafood products will also harm Maine fishermen.The United States Agriculture Department’s secretary, Brooke Rollins, however, says she knows the tariffs will cause concern for American farmers and ranchers but Canada has not treated dairy farmers fairly.“I have no doubt that once they are finished with the negotiation either today or tomorrow or whenever, that we’re going to be in a much better spot because of it,” Ms. Rollins told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday afternoon.Canada launched retaliatory tariffs last year on American goods after Mr. Trump imposed a first round of tariffs. Mr. Carney later lifted those tariffs in an effort to seek a longterm deal. Officials sounded more resolute to hold out for the long term this time.“Today’s countermeasures will ensure workers, farmers, families, and businesses affected are supported throughout this period of uncertainty. Together, we will weather this storm — united and resilient,” Canada’s trade minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said.The Canadian government plans a multibillion aid package for businesses negatively impacted by the trade war. “We will support our workers, our businesses, and our industry with whatever it takes for as long as it takes,” Mr. Champagne said.Canada’s countertariffs come as a war of words heats up. Mr. Trump needled Canada in a Tuesday social media post that his administration was considering renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America. In his Truth Social post, Mr. Trump said the United States is giving “serious consideration” to the renaming “in that we don’t expect to be doing much business with Ontario any longer.”“We’ll always call it Lake Ontario,” the minister of industry, Mélanie Joly, said at a Tuesday news conference. “We’ll just stand up for what we have. While all of these shenanigans are happening, we’ll just be smart and we’ll be strategic, and we’ll fight back.”America is Canada’s largest trading partner and previous tariffs have been a drag on Canada’s economy. Its economy shrunk at a higher-than-expected 1.6 percent annual rate in the second quarter due to significant declines in exports to the United States. Mr. Carney has sought to expand Canadian trade deals to rely less on its southern neighbor. Ottawa has signed 20 new trade deals in the past year and is set to begin discussions with the European Union to build a stronger economic partnership.

Canada Retaliates Against Trump With Dollar-For-Dollar Tariffs on American Imports

Canada Retaliates Against Trump With Dollar-For-Dollar Tariffs on American Imports

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