Carney Responds to US Reciprocal Tariffs Update

“We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures,” Carney told reporters.

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with media on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 2, 2025. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Prime Minister Mark Carney said that although the United States didn’t impose any new tariffs on Canada, the previously announced levies remain in place and Canada is responding to those with retaliatory tariffs.

The White House announced on April 2 that countries would receive a 10 percent baseline tariff rate, effective on April 5, with higher rates for countries depending on their trade deficit with the United States.

In the case of Canada, the initial 10 percent tariffs on its energy exports to the Americans and broad 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which are related to illegal migration and fentanyl trafficking and went into effect earlier this year, will remain in place, unchanged. The current exemptions on goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) free trade deal, implemented on March 6, will also remain.

The 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made cars and car parts announced March 26 are set to apply to Canada and other countries on April 3. The Trump administration had also previously announced 25 percent tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports, including from Canada, which went into effect on March 12.

Carney said U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest announcement “preserved a number of important elements of our relationship,” but he took issue with the other tariffs remaining in place. He said Canada is retaliating with its own tariffs.

“The series of measures will directly affect millions of Canadians. We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures. We are going to protect our workers, and we are going to build the strongest economy in the G7,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa on April 2.

Carney said he plans to meet with the premiers on April 3 and would “have more to say” following the meetings.

The prime minister also said Trump plans to impose additional tariffs related to “so-called strategic sectors” in the United States, such as pharmaceuticals, lumber, and semiconductors. “So we’re in a situation where there is going to be an impact on the U.S. economy, which will build with time ... but the series of measures will directly affect millions of Canadians,” he said.

Carney added that the global reciprocal tariffs will “fundamentally change the international trading system.”

Trump has said the reciprocal tariffs are in response to similar measures put on the United States by other countries.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.

The reciprocal tariffs on other countries include 34 percent on China, 26 percent on India, 24 percent on Japan, 20 percent on the European Union, and 10 percent on the United Kingdom and Australia. The White House said these tariffs are equal to or lower than the tariffs those countries impose on the United States, including through “currency manipulation and trade barriers.”

The White House said that if the fentanyl and illegal migration issues are resolved, Canada would default to the new reciprocal tariff regime where USMCA goods would continue to have “preferential treatment” and other goods would have a 12 percent reciprocal tariff.

Canada has previously announced counter-tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. goods effective Feb. 4, while a second phase of tariffs on another C$125 billion worth of American exports that was set to kick in on March 25 was delayed. Ottawa also implemented C$29.8 billion in U.S. goods on March 12 in response to America’s 25 percent steel and aluminum tariffs.

While speaking at a rally in Kingston, Ont., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the incoming auto tariffs are “an unfair attack” on Canada’s economy.

“For decades, workers on both sides of the border locked arms to build the greatest auto sector in the world. The president is betraying America’s closest friend and attacking our economy,” he said.

Poilievre has said in the past that he supports dollar-for-dollar retaliation against the U.S. tariffs.

Premiers Respond

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the new announcement by the White House an “important win for Canada and Alberta,” noting that the United States has decided to “uphold the majority of the free trade agreement [USMCA]. ”

“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including 0% tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods,” Smith said in a social media post on April 2.

Smith said Ottawa and the premiers should shift their focus toward “removing or significantly reducing” the remaining tariffs, and called on all “our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion” and to avoid “unnecessary escalation.”

Quebec Premier François Legault said in a post that his government is “aware” of the new announcement by the Trump administration and that he will provide further comments on April 3 after meeting with the prime minister and other premiers.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he remains “concerned about the previously announced tariffs on Canadian steel and lumber,” and that his government will continue to engage with Americans to remove the tariffs.

“Saskatchewan will continue to make the case that free and fair trade benefits our citizens on both sides of the border as we work to increase our export markets in the US and throughout the world,” Moe wrote on social media.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston noted that Canada wasn’t “hit with the worst-case scenario in terms of tariffs” but “thousands of Nova Scotians will be impacted” by the remaining tariffs.

“This entire experience has been a huge drain on the mental health of Canadians, and thousands of Nova Scotians are exhausted from the stress of dealing with this uncertainty and instability,” Houston said in a social media post.

He added that the province’s retaliatory measures, which are non-tariff in nature, remain in place.

“This means we will continue to look for ways to put Nova Scotia and Canadian companies first as we review and cancel non-essential contracts with U.S. suppliers,” he said. “The increased tolls at the Cobequid Pass for commercial vehicles from the U.S. will remain. American alcohol will remain off the shelves of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. stores.”

In an apparent reference to the White House announcement, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said on social media, “We are going to work together so that we can deliver on a simple promise - that your jobs are going to be here today, tomorrow and long after Donald Trump leaves office.”

Earlier in the day, Ontario Premier Doug Ford appeared in various American media interviews, saying in a social media post that the tariffs will “put millions of American jobs at risk and raise costs for families across the U.S.”