Canada is introducing more retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced on Wednesday a 25 per cent tax on $29.8 billion worth of American goods will come into effect on Thursday.
This is in response to the U.S.'s 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including those from Canada, that officially started on Wednesday.
"We will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted," said LeBlanc.
Canada's new tariffs would impact $12.6 billion of American steel, $3 billion of American aluminum, and $14.2 million of additional U.S. goods. This includes computers, cast iron products, and sports equipment.
If they officially come into effect, they'll be the second wave of new taxes introduced by the federal government in recent weeks.
A 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion worth of American goods came into effect on March 4, despite the U.S. agreeing to suspend tariffs on all goods that are compliant with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) trade agreement until April 2. In response, the Canadian government stated they would suspend tariffs on $125 billion of U.S. products set to come into effect later this month.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who joined LeBlanc during his announcement, explained the government is prepared to fight this trade war day-by-day.
"The excuse for these tariffs shift every day. The only constant in this unjustifiable trade war seems to be President Trump's talks of annexing our country through economic coercion. We will not back down and we will not give in to this coercion," she said.
