WASHINGTON: Canada said it will announce on Tuesday (Aug 25) its response to President Donald Trump’s new tariffs, as neighbours that used to be close allies spiral into a trade war.
In response to what it called “these challenging times”, the Canadian government said on Monday night that the ministers of finance, industry, labour and other officials would hold a press conference in Ottawa to detail Canada’s answer to the new levies.
Canada and the United States failed on Friday to reach a deal to avert new 50 per cent US tariffs on select Canadian goods after weeks of talks. The duties took effect on Saturday, and Ottawa laid out plans for retaliation.
Trump added Monday that he would double tariffs on Canadian autos starting next year to 50 per cent.
The current US tariff impacting Canadian autos stands at 25 per cent for non-US content, while imported steel to the United States generally faces a 50 per cent duty. US automakers did not immediately comment on the matter.
After rejecting what he called a “bad deal”, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced retaliatory tariffs effective on Sep 8.
He said these will target US steel and dairy industries, while also covering sectors like agricultural equipment, paper and electronics.
The government statement released late Monday said ministers will “announce new measures to protect and support Canadian workers and businesses during these challenging times”.
Carney said on Monday that the goal of trade talks with Washington “has always been to get the best deal for Canadians, never a deal at any price or on any time frame”.
“We learned that, during the negotiations, the Americans wanted to destroy our major industries – including the automotive, steel, and aluminium sectors – through unfair negotiating terms. And that is one of the main reasons why we said no.”
He stressed that building domestically and diversifying trade abroad has been “plan A from the start”.
Over the weekend, Carney added that, at the 11th hour, US negotiators also sought restrictions on Canadian trade deals with other countries.
US negotiators made unacceptable “threats” to the French language and “Quebec culture” too, he said, referring to eastern Canada’s French-speaking province.
At a separate event Monday, however, US Vice President JD Vance blamed Canada’s “unreasonable last-minute demands”.
The United States is by far Canada’s biggest trading partner, with Canadian exports to its neighbour representing 70 per cent of its overall total.
Canada is the United States’ second biggest trading partner in goods this year, behind Mexico, government data showed.
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