Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will proceed with counter-tariffs on $155 billion worth of American goods as the United States seems poised to proceed with blanket tariffs on Canadian imports.
“Today, after a 30-day pause, the United States administration has decided to proceed with imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian exports and 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian energy,“ Trudeau said in a statement on March 3. ”Let me be unequivocally clear – there is no justification for these actions.”
In making the remarks at a press conference at the White House, Trump reiterated previous comments that there had been “vast amounts of fentanyl” coming into the United States from Canada and Mexico.
Trump had initially announced that the tariffs would be imposed on Feb. 4, but gave a last minute 30-day pause after phone calls with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, and getting commitments from them to do more to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration into the United States through their borders. These commitments included Canada appointing a “fentanyl czar” and listing drug cartels as terrorist organizations, in addition to the previously committed CA$1.3 billion commitment to bolster border security, and Mexico agreeing to send 10,000 solders to the border.
Both countries went ahead with implementing these new promises. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNN on March 3 that he will advise the president that Canada and Mexico have “done a good job on the border,” but that “they haven’t done enough on fentanyl.”
Trudeau said in his March 3 statement that Canada has worked hard to address the issue of fentanyl trafficking
“While less than 1 per cent of the fentanyl intercepted at the U.S. border comes from Canada, we have worked relentlessly to address this scourge that affects Canadians and Americans alike,” Trudeau said, while listing the actions Canada has taken to boost border security.
Trudeau added that the first wave of Canadian counter-tariffs will be on $30 billion worth of American imports into Canada, and the tariffs on the other $125 billion worth of imports would come in 21 days to allow impacted Canadian companies to adjust their supply chains. The Canadian prime minister added that the U.S. tariffs will also adversely impact Americans, as tariffs hike up costs.
Canada may also consider non-tariff options should the U.S. tariffs continue to remain in place.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures. While we urge the U.S. administration to reconsider their tariffs, Canada remains firm in standing up for our economy, our jobs, our workers, and for a fair deal,” Trudeau said.
The Trump administration has also announced it will proceed with tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from all countries, including Canada, by mid-March.
As well, Trump has ordered his officials to review existing trade agreements with other countries by April, and additional tariffs may result from this review should the Trump administration deem any of the agreements to be unfair.
