The U.S. president’s executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET
The U.S. president’s executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will not let U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision Monday to move ahead with imposing 25 per cent tariffs against the country “go unanswered.”
In a statement that evening, Trudeau called Trump’s plan to hit Canada with 25 per cent tariffs beginning Tuesday “unjustified,” adding the president will violate “the very trade agreement” the U.S, Canada and Mexico negotiated during his last term.
“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered, ” Trudeau said.
The president’s executive order hitting Canada and Mexico with tariffs took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET.
Trudeau is set to hold a press conference Tuesday morning along with Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty.
Trump has proposed hitting Canadian energy with a 10 per cent tariff. He has it would be 25 per cent for all other imports.
Should the U.S. proceed, Trudeau says “Canada will, effective 12:01 a.m. EST tomorrow, respond with 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion of American goods.”
That would start “with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately, and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion on American products in 21 days’ time,” according to the statement.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is withdrawn, and should U.S. tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures.”
Earlier the day, Trump said the 25 per cent tariffs against Canadian and Mexican goods would go into effect Tuesday because there was “no room left” for a deal with the two countries.
He named the flow of fentanyl as an ongoing issue.
You come at us, we aren’t rolling over
Trudeau and Canadian officials have consistently pushed back about the amount of fentanyl and migrants the White House says enters the U.S. from its northern border with Canada.
Officials maintain that less one per cent of each entering the U.S. originates in Canada.
Trudeau secured a 30-day reprieve from the tariffs last month by promising to appoint a so-called “fentanyl czar” and list cartels as terrorist entities. That was in addition to announcing a six year $1.3-billion border plan last December and beefing up the number of officers and surveillance at the Canada-U.S. border.
After returning from Washington last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there were no clear set of things that would guarantee Canada avoids tariffs.
“We should brace for it and brace for the fact that this could go on for the next four years.”
Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s newly appointed “fentanyl czar” was also in Washington to join Miller and Public Safety Minister David McGuinty for a meeting with Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar.
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme also attended.
Part of Canada’s outreach has been to try and show the U.S. it is citing figures that are inaccurate and, at times, incorrectly attribute the flow of drugs and immigration to Canada, instead of Mexico, Miller said.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told CNN he believes while Canada and Mexico have tightened their borders, the fact fentanyl is still entering the U.S. remains a problem.
“The president has to say, ‘I appreciate what you have accomplished, but you haven’t accomplished enough and that’s what we’re going to be talking about all day today,” Lutnick said.
Industry, union and political leaders all warn that getting hit by 25 per cent tariffs would be devastating not only to Canadian prices in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, but to sectors across the America. They also warn of job losses.
“Businesses on both side of the border have already been damaged by the uncertainty coming from President Trump’s drip-drip-drip of tariff threats,” said Matthew Holmes, an executive vice-president and public policy chief at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in a statement.
“We have no reason to expect this will change any time soon. Whether it’s tomorrow, next week, or in April, there has already been damage to the relationship and to our economies.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said while it supports the Trump administration’s “pro-growth policies like fewer regulations and less taxation,” it is also not in favour of tariffs.
“Tariffs will only raise prices and increase the economic pain being felt by everyday Americans across the country,” said Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. “We urge reconsideration of this policy and a swift end to these tariffs.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said both she and Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc had been in touch with their counterparts.
Trudeau first announced Canada would be prepared to move on tariffs against $155-billion worth of U.S. goods last month, when Trump signed the initial executive order to impose his trade levies.
Following two phone calls the day before they were set to take effect, Trudeau and Trump announced they had reached a 30-day delay. That came in exchange for Canada announcing additional measures to clamp down on the flow of migrants and fentanyl.
“While less than (one) 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 in Monday’s statement.
Besides Tuesday’s threat of tariffs, Canada is also bracing for tariffs on steel and aluminum, which Trump vowed to impose on March 12. He says he will hit countries with “reciprocal tariffs” starting April 2.
That month, a trade study is due, which could open the door to even more tariffs.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford repeated his threat to direct the LCBO to pull American alcohol from its shelves and rip up the $100 million deal its signed with Starlink, a satellite company run by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s biggest allies.
He also threatened to shut off electricity that powers parts of the U.S.
“You come at us, we aren’t rolling over,” Ford says.
He called on Ontario retailers to help consumers fight back with their purchasing power by clearly stating which products are made-in-Canada, warning he would be prepared to legislate that they do so.
“I’ve never seen patriotism like this in my entire life running wild across the country and we’re just going to keep ramping it up, over and over again.”
– With additional reporting from The Canadian Press and Bloomberg
National Post
staylor@postmedia.com
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