Canada strikes back at Trump as trade war blows up
Canadian leaders outlined a major retaliation against Trump’s latest wave of tariffs as a rare ally shows it is prepared to push back.
Canada has hit back with retaliatory tariffs on US annual imports and rolled out aid for businesses and workers, matching Washington’s latest duties dollar-for-dollar.
The counter-tariffs on US goods worth about $US20 billion ($A28 billion) take effect on September 8 and impose duties of 15 per cent, 25 per cent and 50 per cent across around 700 products imported from south of the border, a government statement said.
US President Donald Trump’s new 50 per cent tariffs on $US20 billion ($A28 billion) of Canadian imports took effect on Saturday after talks between the two countries collapsed.
The new tit-for-tat tariffs mark a new low in relations between the longtime allies, and Trump earlier on Tuesday threatened on social media to rename Lake Ontario, which straddles both countries, “Lake America”.
Trump labelled Canada the “most difficult and unreasonable” country he has dealt with but Canada is emerging as a rare ally prepared to stand firm against protectionist trade policies and hardball negotiating tactics.
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“Our dollar-for-dollar, rate for rate counter-tariffs as well as a multi-billion dollar support package will protect workers, farmers, families, and businesses,” Canada’s Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said.
The White House and the US Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Canada levied the 50 per cent tariffs on steel, aluminium, furniture and clothing, set the 25 per cent tariffs on cheese, appliances and some seafood, and placed the 15 per cent tariffs on electronics and tools, a Canadian government official told reporters.
Trump’s new tariffs are relatively narrow, affecting roughly five per cent of Canada’s exports to the United States. But trade analysts say they could have severe, concentrated effects on some sectors that are already struggling like wood products, particularly kitchen cabinet makers.
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Canada’s retaliatory tariffs, calculated using 2024 trade figures, cover goods accounting for nearly 4.5 per cent of Canada’s imports from the United States.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly said the counter-tariffs were primarily aimed at protecting Canadian businesses but were also aimed at applying political pressure before Americans vote in the November 3 midterm elections.
“We need to make sure that the competitors don’t have access to the Canadian market in a better way than their own… products, and that’s why the retailers need to show that from Canada,” she said.
“Second, we’re also targeting products that will target states in the US and so we’re being wise and strategic to put political pressure, and that’s why we think it’s the right thing to do right now.”
Other Canadian leaders are prepared to go further with Ontario Premier Doug Ford earlier this week listing other options including ending US access to the province’s critical minerals or placing new fees on Canadian power provided to northern US states.
However the new Canadian tariffs being introduced will also cover some prepared foods, perfumes and toiletries, plastics, lumber, wood pulp and paper products, carpets and clothing.
The list also targets industrial goods including iron and steel, aluminium, hand tools and other metal products, machinery and electrical equipment, as well as rail engines, motorcycles, furniture and gaming equipment, government documents showed.
Canada also unveiled a C$7.5 billion ($A7.57 billion) package of measures featuring support for small and medium-sized businesses, a stream for funding cash flow of companies, and support for workers at risk due to the new tariffs.
The Business Development Bank of Canada, a federal lender, will provide part of the support to affected businesses, offering interest-free loans of between C$2.5 million ($A2.52 million) and C$5 million ($A5 million).
Joly said companies would not be required to make repayments for 36 months, a period that would run through the end of the Trump administration’s term.
– AAP
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