Canada slaps 25% tariffs on US goods in response to Trump’s trade war opening salvo

SCMP | Feb. 1, 2025, 10:04 p.m. | Original

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (centre) addresses the media in Ottawa on Saturday following the imposition of a raft of tariffs by US President Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico and China. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Canada will retaliate against Donald Trump ’s new tariffs with 25 per cent levies on a raft of US imports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said, warning Americans that Trump’s actions would have real consequences for them.

As relations between the long-time allies who share the world’s longest land border reach a new low, Trudeau told a news conference he was slapping tariffs on C$155 billion (US$107 billion) of US goods. Those on C$30 billion will take effect on Tuesday, the same day as Trump’s tariffs, and duties on the remaining C$125 billion in 21 days, he said.

“Canada will be responding to the US trade action with 25 per cent tariffs against C$155 billion worth of American goods,” he told a news conference on Saturday, speaking in a dramatic tone as he warned of a fracture in long-standing Canada-US ties.

The first round of tariffs would target C$30 billion worth of US goods on Tuesday followed by further tariffs on C$125 billion worth of products in three weeks.

The US and Canadian flags fly on the US side of the Saint Clair River near the border crossing between Ontario and Michigan. Photo: AFP
The US and Canadian flags fly on the US side of the Saint Clair River near the border crossing between Ontario and Michigan. Photo: AFP
Trudeau’s announcement came just hours after Trump signed an executive order imposing 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico starting on Tuesday except Canadian energy products, which will be subject to a 10 per cent duty.

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