Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that Canada could respond with “retaliatory tariffs” against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian goods.
According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 9th (local time), Trudeau stated at a Chamber of Commerce event in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that they are “still looking for the right response” to the proposed U.S. tariffs and will “respond in various ways to unfair tariffs.”
Prime Minister Trudeau referred to Canada’s response in 2018 when the first Trump administration imposed high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, including Canadian products, and Canada responded with “retaliatory tariffs” on certain U.S. products. He noted that these tariffs were eventually lifted as a result of Canada’s response to the unfair tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Previously, on the 25th of last month, President-elect Trump announced a plan to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada on his inauguration day, January 20 of the following year, and an additional 10% tariff on China. This would significantly increase the tariff barriers between the three countries, despite the lack of such barriers due to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump cited chronic American social issues like drugs and illegal immigration as the justification for this action.
Prime Minister Trudeau warned that a 25% tariff on all products going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy and predicted that the prices of Canadian goods in the United States would also rise. He added, “There are signs that they are beginning to realize that these tariffs will make the cost of living more expensive for Americans.”