With a trade war officially underway, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's retaliatory tariffs will not be dropped until the U.S. withdraws its tariffs placed on Canadian goods.
Trudeau said the U.S.-imposed tariffs came into effect early Tuesday morning, as did Canada's response with retaliatory tariffs.
"Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days time," he said.
Trudeau said Canada will also file dispute resolution claims at the World Trade Organization and through the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
"Should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures," he said. "Measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war."
While speaking directly to Americans, Trudeau said this dispute is not something Canada wants and is a result of the U.S. government.
"Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada or because of consumers in Canada, or both," Trudeau said. "There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today."
Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on tariffs in February to implement a border security plan, however, the White House announced on Monday that Canada and Mexico failed to "adequately address the situation."
"The legal pretext [the U.S.] government is using to bring in these tariffs is that Canada is apparently unwilling to help in the fight against illegal fentanyl. Well, that is totally false," said Trudeau.
Since last month's agreement, Canada has appointed a fentanyl czar and implemented additional tools and personnel to secure the border.
"As the U.S. Customs and Border Protection just acknowledged, there was a 97 per cent drop in fentanyl seizures from January compared to December to a near zero low of less than half an ounce seized in January," Trudeau said.
During the media conference, Trudeau changed his focus to speak directly to Trump.
"Now it's not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do," he said.
To Canadians, Trudeau said, "this is going to be tough."
"We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and business can weather this storm, from expanding EI benefits and making them more flexible to providing direct supports to business," Trudeau said. "We will be there as needed to help."
Trudeau said while Canadians are hurt and angry, it's not directed at American individuals but rather a policy decision by the American government.
