Canada hits back at U.S. with $29.8B in new counter-tariffs
Canada is hitting back at the United States with additional counter-tariffs worth $29.8 billion in response to new duties on Canadian steel and aluminum as a trade war between the two North American neighbours escalates.
The federal government made the announcement after a 25 per cent tariff imposed by the U.S. on all steel and aluminum imports from Canada and America’s other trading partners went into effect Wednesday.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the new counter-tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on March 13 and apply to steel products worth $12.6 billion, aluminum products worth $3 billion, as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion.
“With these most recent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, the U.S. administration is once again inserting disruption and disorder into an incredibly successful trading partnership and raising the costs of everyday goods for Canadians and American households alike,” LeBlanc said.
“We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted.”
U.S. President Donald Trump had on Tuesday threatened to double the planned metal tariffs to 50 per cent in response to Ontario’s decision to impose a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the U.S., which was retaliation for Trump imposing sweeping 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods last week.
The White House on Tuesday afternoon said the steel and aluminum tariffs would go ahead at 25 per cent instead of 50 per cent after Ontario suspended its electricity tax for three U.S. states.
The new counter-tariffs from Canada add to the 25 per cent counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods that were imposed last week in response to the broad-based duties. Ottawa says these will remain in place until all of Trump’s tariffs are lifted.
Canadian provinces have separately unveiled their own retaliatory measures.
On Monday, Ontario introduced a 25 per cent tax on all electricity exported from the province to Michigan, Minnesota and New York in response to the U.S. tariffs on Canadian products. A day later, the province backed down and said there would be a meeting with U.S. officials on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Trump has threatened more rounds of tariffs on Canada’s auto sector and Canadian dairy and lumber, plus so-called reciprocal tariffs on all of America’s trading partners, including Canada.
The metal tariffs are expected to impact workers and businesses on both sides of the border.
The U.S. relies on Canada for 75 per cent of its imported primary aluminum, according to the Aluminum Association of Canada.
“Trump is knowingly inflicting damage to the North American manufacturing sector with these inflationary tariffs that will injure workers, eliminate jobs, and hurt consumers,” Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, said in a statement Wednesday.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said Trump’s tariffs are “proven to fail,” adding that the last time he tariffed steel and aluminum imports in 2018, it resulted in the “net loss of tens of thousands of American blue-collar jobs.”
“Steel and aluminum are about strength; these tariffs do nothing but weaken us both,” said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“President Trump may as well hand over North America’s steel and aluminum leadership to China.”
Canada is not the only country being hit by the steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump’s executive order, which kicked in 12:01 a.m. eastern Wednesday, applies to all steel and aluminum imports from America’s trading partners, with no exceptions or exemptions.
Source: Global News
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