Emily Brown
Canada has announced $20.7 billion ($29.8 billion CAD) in tariffs against the United States after Donald Trump introduced a 25 percent charge on all steel and aluminum imports from his country's northern neighbor.
Canada hit back against the US today (March 12), after Trump's tariffs came into effect amid his efforts to halt 'illegal immigration' and stop 'poisonous fentanyl and other drugs' from entering the US.
Canada is the largest foreign supplier of steel and aluminum to the US, and its new tariffs announcement marks another form of retaliation after the country threatened to place an increased cost on electricity going into the United States; a move which prompted Trump to announce that he had instructed his Secretary of Commerce to increase the tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent.
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Trump has since walked back on that threat, but Canada has made clear it's not backing down by introducing its new tariffs which will come into effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 13.
Canada's tariffs will affect steel products worth CAD $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth CAD $3 billion, as well as CAD $14.2 billion worth of imported US goods. Examples of the items affected by the tariffs include tools, computers and servers, display monitors, water heaters, sport equipment, and cast-iron products.
Announcing the move, Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said: "I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar for dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12.01am, tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8bn of imports from the United States."
LeBlanc went on to tell reporters: "The U.S. 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.
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"We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted."
The new tariffs come in addition to tariffs placed on billions of dollars worth of US imports earlier this month.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has admitted that the battle between Canada and the US will be a 'day-to-day' fight, adding: "This is now the second round of unjustified tariffs level against Canada and Canadian goods."
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Joly is among a number of foreign ministers from G7 countries who are meeting in Quebec from today, and she declared plans to address the issue of tariffs when she meets with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
According to The Guardian, Joly said: "In every single meeting, I will raise the issue of tariffs to coordinate a response with the Europeans and to put pressure on the Americans. This is much more than about our economy. It is about the future of our country. Canadian sovereignty and identity are non-negotiable.
"Canadians have had enough, and we are a strong country who will defend our sovereignty, will defend our jobs and will defend our way of living, and we will do so altogether, every single day and one day at a time."