Canada’s new tariffs are in addition to its 25% counter tariffs on $30 billion Canadian of imports from the US that were put in place on 4 March in response to other Trump import taxes that he’s partially delayed by a month.
ADVERTISEMENTCanada will impose reciprocal tariffs on US imports worth 29.8 bn CAD (€19bn), in response to the 25% steel and aluminium tariffs that US President Donald Trump has levelled, which came into effect on Wednesday.
Canada’s new tariffs would be on steel and aluminium products, as well as U.S. goods including computers, sports equipment and water heaters worth $14.2bn Canadian (€9bn).
“We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminium industries are being unfairly targeted,” said Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Canada’s new tariffs are in addition to its 25% counter tariffs on 30bn CAD of imports from the US that were put in place on March 4 in response to other Trump import taxes that he’s partially delayed by a month.
Trump removed all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminium from 10%. His moves, based off a February directive, are part of a broader effort to disrupt and transform global commerce.
Call for cooperation from Ottawa to Brussels
The US president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on 2 April.
The EU announced its own countermeasures on Wednesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was “applying tariffs worth $28 billion, we are responding with countermeasures worth €26 billion.” Those measures, which cover not just steel and aluminium products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods, will take effect in two stages, the first starting on 1 April.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly called on her European colleagues to “work together to eliminate” the tariffs and “encourage Americans to pressure their elected officials.”
