CANADA has retaliated against the US with $20 billion in tariffs hours after President Donald Trump’s 25% tax on steel and aluminum went into effect.
The fallout of Trump’s trade war continues to unfold as America’s greatest allies turn sour at his global fees.
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On Wednesday, François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science, and industry, confirmed the move in a fiery news conference.
He blasted Trump’s tariffs as “completely unjustified, unfair, and unreasonable” after the US president targeted metals, one of Canada’s most valuable exports.
“The US 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,” said Champagne.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly accused Trump of using an “unjustifiable trade war” to annex Canada through “economic coercion.”
read more on the trade war
“Yesterday, he called our border a fictional line and repeated his disrespectful 51st state rhetoric,” she said.
This is Canada’s second round of $20 billion retaliatory tariffs. The first tax applied to everyday items like American orange juice, footwear, coffee, paper products, and appliances.
Another wave of $87 billion tariffs was announced in Ottawa, but that was suspended after Trump paused some duties.
Canadian officials have been furious at Trump’s new world order.
This week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford revealed a plan to tariff electricity exported to the US.
He then threatened to shut off the electricity supply to Minnesota, New York, and Michigan if America refused to pay.
Trump blasted this proposal as an “abusive threat” and said Canada was “stooping low” by targeting innocent people’s basic needs.
“They will pay a financial price for this so big that it will be read about in history books for years to come,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Hours after this post, Ford said he would temporarily suspend his plan as US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to go back to the table on trade talks.
The pair will meet in Washington DC to cool off the temperature between the nations.
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Trump’s taxes on steel and aluminum will affect hundreds of downstream products, including soda cans, blades for construction equipment, and bolts.
EU’S OUTRAGE
Canada joins a growing list of furious international leaders who are tightening the reins on trade with the US.
The European Union also confirmed Wednesday that it would force American exporters to pay extra fees on industrial and farm products.
After announcing the measures, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen shared her sincere “regret.”
“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers,” she said.
“These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy.
“Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.
“The European Union must act to protect consumers and business.”
Why has Trump hit China, Canada, and Mexico with tariffs?
DONALD Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese imports to the US and has threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. But, why did he propose the levies?
China:
- Trump believes China has not done enough to stop the production of chemicals used to make the drug fentanyl.
- China has slammed Trump for the claim and described fentanyl as America’s problem.
- The country also said the tariffs are a “serious violation” of the World Trade Organization rules.
- China is therefore filing a lawsuit with the WTO against the US for “wrongful practice”.
- China serves as a major supplier of auto parts to the US.
- Phones and computers along with other key electronic devices were also in the top imports from China last year, according to Commerce Department Data.
- In 2023, the US imported around $427 billion worth of products from China in total, according to the US Census Bureau.
- Data reveals that 78% of all smartphones imported from the US came from China.
- Trump’s tariff threat has sparked fears of price rises for fashion items and toys.
- Beijing has responded by outlining its own tariffs on American goods, sparking fears of an all-out trade war between the two powerhouses.
Canada:
- Trump doubled his initial 25% tariff proposal on Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario Premier Doug Ford countered by charging 25% more for the electricity his province provides to about 1.5 million Americans in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan.
- The president said the new 50% levies on Canadian steel and aluminum will take effect on the morning of March 12.
- Ford, on the other hand, instructed Ontario’s Independent Electricity System to implement a $7-per-megawatt-per-hour fee on all power exports to the three US states.
- The Ontario premier warned that he “will not hesitate to increase” the levies or completely shut off power to the three US northeastern states.
- Trump ignited a trade war with Canada and Mexico during his first days in office as part of a campaign promise to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States.
- He said both countries had not done enough to halt the drug flow and the mass influx of migrants from reaching US soil.
Mexico:
- Mexico has managed to twice postpone Trump’s tariffs on Mexican goods.
- On February 1, Trump signed an executive order to impose tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China.
- But, on February 3, Trump agreed to pause the levies against Canada and Mexico after the countries took steps to appease Trump’s concerns on border security and drug trafficking.
- On March 4, Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports go into effect.
- But, on March 6, the president postponed the 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and some from Canada for a month.
- Trump credited Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s progress on border security and drug smuggling as a reason for the pause on the levies.
- Still, Trump has maintained that on April 2 the US will begin imposing reciprocal tariffs on all its trading partners, including Mexico.
51st STATE DRAMA
On Sunday, the Liberal Party of Canada elected wealthy banker Mark Carney as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s replacement – and Trump’s new rival.
He is set to take over in the coming days and will navigate Trump’s fight to make Canada the 51st state.
Trump initially planned to target Canada, Mexico, and China with his taxes, but now, no one is safe from his plan to bolster US manufacturing.
He hopes that international companies will be pressured to establish plants on American soil to dodge the excess fees and provide US jobs.
The president claims that countries have been benefitting from America’s liberal trade policies, and he is merely reclaiming cash that’s been lost for years.
“Canada is a tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We don’t need your cars, we don’t need your lumber, we don’t [need] your energy, and very soon, you will find that out.”
