The governments of Canada and China announced they will apply reciprocal measures to the 20% and 25% tariffs, respectively, that the United States will impose on imports from both nations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Canadian products is “unjustified” and that Canada will retaliate immediately with 25% tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. imports.
Trudeau added in a statement released late Monday that if Washington maintains the 10% tariffs on energy imports and 25% on other Canadian products, within 21 days his government will impose tariffs on an additional $125 billion.
Canada is also considering non-tariff retaliations.
“Canada will not allow this unjustified decision to go unanswered. If U.S. tariffs take effect tonight, Canada will respond starting at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow with 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods,” Trudeau stated.
“Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. trade action is revoked, and if U.S. tariffs do not cease, we are in discussions with provinces and territories to implement non-tariff measures,” he added.
These measures could include cutting off energy exports (including natural gas, oil, and electricity) to the United States, an option several provincial leaders have raised that could leave millions of northern U.S. households without power.
The Canadian leader noted that the tariffs imposed by Trump “violate the very agreement negotiated by President Trump during his previous term” and that Canada has met the demands Washington imposed in January to avoid the tariffs.
Canada has increased border security with investments of nearly $1 billion, deployed thousands of agents along U.S. border areas, and strengthened measures to combat drug trafficking, including appointing a ‘fentanyl czar.’
Thanks to these measures, fentanyl trafficking from Canada to the U.S. nearly stopped completely in January of this year, when U.S. authorities seized only 0.01 kilograms of fentanyl, according to data from U.S. authorities cited by Trudeau.
China announces countermeasures
Meanwhile, China warned Tuesday it will adopt “countermeasures” following President Donald Trump’s announcement to raise tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20%.
“China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this, and will take countermeasures to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
Trump signed an executive order Monday raising to 20% the tariffs he initially announced on February 1 against Chinese products.
The move impacted Tuesday’s stock markets in Japan and Hong Kong, which saw sharp declines in morning trading.
Japan’s Nikkei index fell over 2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.5% following Trump’s announcement.
The U.S. president said he wants to use the tariffs to balance his country’s trade deficit and partially fund his promise to cut taxes and demand “respect” from trading partners.
Trump accuses China of tolerating fentanyl trafficking, a synthetic opioid that has wreaked havoc in the United States, and has said the tariffs are a way to punish that alleged inaction.
Image: Opinion
